Digital Books
In the
National library
Challenges, Plans & Status
Nov, 2013

Hebrew Books - Vision
The National Library of Israel
vision is to undertake the
Hebrew Bookshelf,
making the entire body of
relevant Hebrew texts
from the period of Mt. Sinai
to the present day
readily available
over the Internet.

WHAT IS THE HEBREW BOOK?

The Book of Moses
According to Tradition, Just
before the revelation at Sinai,
Moses wrote everything that
had transpired up until that
point. Moses would transcribe
each of these portions as a
small scroll.
Shortly before his death, he
combined all these portions to
form the Torah that we have
today.

Book of Moses Deposited in Temple
According to tradition,
before his death, Moses
wrote 13 Torah scrolls.
Twelve of these were given
to the 12 tribes. The
thirteenth was placed in the
Ark of the Covenant. This
was eventually deposited in
the Holy of Holies in the
Temple.

The Dead Sea Scrolls
The most ancient Torah scrolls
have been found near the Dead
Sea, in Israel. They are known to
be the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some
of the scrolls are more than two
thousand years old!

The Cairo Bible
After the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the earliest dated Hebrew
manuscript is a Bible which was
found in the Cairo Karaite
Synagogue from the year 895.

Hebrew Manuscripts around the world
Additionally, experts estimate that there are
about 75,000 Hebrew books in manuscript form.

Hebrew Printed Books
In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg
invented the printing press.
By 1455, Gutenberg was able
to print his Bible.
The first Hebrew book
was printed in 1470

How many Hebrew printed books are there?
The Hebrew Bibliography Project
associated with the National Library of Israel,
has registered 141,000 books,
published between 1470 and 1960.
However, the unique number
is much smaller (< 100,000), since many
books have been published several times.

So, how many books?
We estimate that about 250,000 additional unique Hebrew
books have been published since 1960.
Overall, about 350,000 unique Hebrew books have been
published since the invention of printing press.

National library Current Plan
 50,000 Hebrew manuscripts
 50,000 books from 15th-20th centuries
 Several thousands copyrighted books

The Hebrew Book: Potential Sources

Microfilm was the best way to preserve copies of
manuscripts. But the quality and accessibility are very poor.
Mi
c ro
fil m
Dig
it
al C
op
y

‫‪Digital Programs‬‬
‫פרויקטים דיגיטליים‬

Create a Logical Thesaurus &
Modern Dictionary
 Create a Logical Thesaurus
enabling one to search for
related ideas rather than
specific terms or key words.
 Create a modern dictionary
which will help in translating
Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew
into Modern Hebrew.

What features will be included with each book?
o Digitized text
o Modern Hebrew Dictionary
o Modern Lexicon of Concepts
o Hierarchical Breakup of Book’s Structure
o Full Index
o Search Engine
o Bibliography (accurate metadata)

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‫חומרים‬
‫מתווכי‬
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Viewer – Multi platform use

‫מחקר קהלים‬
‫משתמשים‬
‫תלמידים‬
‫סטודנטים‬
‫מקורות מידע‬
‫הצורך‬
‫• מקורות מידע לעבודות • אנציקלופדיות‬
‫• לימוד עצמאי בתחומים • ספרי לימוד ומחקר‬
‫שונים‬
‫• תוכניות לימודיות –‬
‫מט"ח, סנונית, או"פ‬
‫• הכנה לבחינות‬
‫• אתרי אינטרנט‬
‫מורים‬
‫• התעדכנות במחקרים‬
‫חדשים‬
‫חוקרים‬
‫• עיון במידע מגוון בתחום‬
‫• העשרת הידע‬
‫קהל רחב‬
‫• עניין ראשוני בתחומים‬
‫ומונחים שונים‬
‫• העשרת הידע‬
‫• מגזינים מקצועיים‬
‫• ספרי עיון ומחקר‬
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‫• אנציקלופדיות‬
‫ולקסיקונים‬
‫• ספרי עיון וקריאה‬
‫• מעקב אחר נושאי עניין‬
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‫אישיים‬
‫ניתוח ‪TASC‬‬
‫אתרי אינטרנט‬
‫מקצועיים‬
‫אתרי אינטרנט‬
‫הקושי בשימוש‬
‫• התרוצצות בין‬
‫ספריות כלליות‬
‫ומקצועיות‬
‫• גישה מוגבלת‬
‫• רמת חומר ירודה‬
‫• התרוצצות בין‬
‫ספריות‬
‫• הגבלות השאלה‬
‫בספריות‬
‫• איתור החומרים‬
‫והאתרים הרלבנטיים‬
‫• נגישות נמוכה‬
‫לספריות‬
‫• עלות גבוהה‬
‫ברכישת התכנים‬
‫הרלבנטיים‬
‫• קושי באיתור חומר‬
‫איכותי‬

Content (My)
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My Shelf
My Lists
My Books
My Comments
My Groups
My Friends
My recommendations
Actions (Do)
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Read Together
Work Together
Publish Together
Teacher-Student Model
Community Model
Learning Aids
Activity Board

Thank You
Questions:
Alon.Strasman@nli.org.il