Collection Development for Judaica Materials (December 2017)

1. With Rebecca J. W. Jefferson
University of Florida
Collection Development
for Judaica Materials

2. Purpose of Webinar
This webinar is primarily intended to help:
Non-specialists
This webinar was not designed for:
Well-established professional Judaica
librarians, curators, subject specialists,
although some of the information may
provide additional food for thought!

3. Images in Webinar
The images in this webinar feature the
University of Florida’s Judaica Suite, which
houses the University’s rare and scarce
Judaica and Hebraica. The Judaica Suite was
designed by Florida architect and artist,
Kenneth Treister in 2014.
These photographs of the Suite were all
produced by the University of Florida
photographers, Bernard Brzezinski and
Hannah Pietrick in 2016.
© University of Florida

4. Contents
Introduction: What is Judaica?
1. Judaica libraries and collections
2. Collection development literature and guides
3. Finding Judaica resources: bibliographies, catalogs, etc.
4. Step-by-step collection development guidance:
 Environmental scanning,
 Patron needs assessment
 Institutional mission alignment
 Library funding
 Just-in-time purchasing vs. just-in-case purchasing
 Creating a collection development policy
5. Buying Judaica resources: vendors
6. Alternative methods of acquiring Judaica resources
Summary: Go forth and multiply!

5. Webinar Structure
Each section in this webinar will be followed by
an interlude, which will include the following
three elements:
1. Outside the Box: different ways of
approaching Judaica collection development
2. Just for Fun or Did You Know? Interesting facts
about Judaica resources
3. Question/Poll: a quiz or a question to get you
thinking about Judaica resources!

6. Getting to know you …
Which statement best describes your
situation?
A. I’m a non-specialist looking to develop a
small collection of Judaica
B. I’m a non-specialist looking to build a Judaica
Library
C. I’m a specialist wanting extra tips about
collection development
D. I’m just watching out of pure interest
E. None of the above (describe your situation?)

7. Introduction: What is Judaica?
Judaica
Hebraica
Jewish
Studies
Other
Academic
Disciplines

8. History of Judaica Libraries
Some notable developments in the history of
Judaica Libraries include:
• Canonization of the Bible
• Oral and Written Law
• Dead Sea Scrolls and Genizot
• European Libraries and Hebraica
• Censored Books and Book Burnings
• Jewish Studies
• United States Libraries
• Israel National Library

9. Main Types of Judaica Libraries
• Rabbinical Seminaries
• Jewish Research Institutions
• College and University Libraries
• Public Libraries
• Synagogue Libraries
• Jewish Center Libraries
• Jewish School Libraries

10. Main Types of Judaica Collections
1. Comprehensive collecting
2. Representative collecting
3. Purposeful collecting
4. Scholarly demand
5. Historic preservation
6. Historic restitution
7. Gifts

11. Some major genres of Judaica
1. Hebrew Bible
2. Mishnah and Talmud
3. Rabbinics
4. Judaism
5. Israel and the Middle East
6. Hebrew language and literature
7. Yiddish language and literature
8. Jewish history
9. Holocaust
10. Jewish fiction
11. Jewish art and music
12. Jewish folklore
13. Jewish mysticism

12. Outside the Box!
Building Collaborative Digital Collections
The Jewish Diaspora Collection (JDoC) is a collaborative
and cooperative digital library designed to preserve and
provide wide access to Jewish heritage materials from
Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. Modelled on
the Digital Library of the Caribbean, JDoC provides a host
site and portal for digitized versions of hidden and/or
endangered Jewish cultural, historical and research
materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private
collections. See: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/judaica

13. Fun Fact!
Advertisement in the Wall Street Journal
newspaper from 1954:
The Four Dead Sea Scrolls: Biblical
manuscripts dating back to at least 200 BC
are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an
educational or religious institution by an
individual or group. Box F206.

14. Question Time!
What clue or clues tell you if your copy of a Jewish
book was one of millions stolen by the Nazis and
recovered after WWII?
A. It has a Hakenkreuz symbol
B. It has a Reichsadler (Imperial Eagle) motif
C. It bears an Offenbach Archival Depot stamp
D. It’s Jewish Cultural Reconstruction bookplate
E. Its Library of Congress stamp
F. Answer A and/or E
G. Answers C and/or D
H. Answers D and B

15. Collection Development Guides
Recommended Reading:
1. Berlin, Charles, “Library Resources for Jewish
Studies in the United States,” American Jewish
Year Book, Vol. 75 (1974-1975), 3-53.
2. Lubetski, Edith & Meir, Building a Judaica Library
Collection: a resource guide, Littleton, Colorado:
Libraries Unlimited Inc, 1983.
3. Levine, Joyce (ed), The Jewish Library Handbook:
a guide for synagogue, school and center
libraries, originally compiled by Margot S.
Berman, Association of Jewish Libraries, 2016.

16. Collection Development Guides
Association of Jewish Libraries Knowledge Databases
http://jewishlibraries.org/:
Bibliography Bank, a collection of bibliographies compiled
by AJL members
Book Review Index, a guide to AJL Reviews
Hasafran, the listserv of the Association of Jewish Libraries
Jewish ValuesFinder, a searchable database that identifies
quality Jewish children's books
RAS Cataloging Wiki, an ongoing project of the Research,
Archives, and Special Libraries Cataloging committee

17. Collection Development Guides
Comparing Collection Development Policies
Look at other libraries’ collection development policies to gain ideas
Examples:
Judaica Collections at the University of Pennsylvania:
https://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/policies/jewish.html
The I. Edward Kiev Judaica Collection:
https://library.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/scrc/Kiev_collection_develop
ment_policy.pdf
Leo Baeck Institute: https://www.lbi.org/collections/library/library-
collection-development-policy/
Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane:
http://library.tulane.edu/about/collections/policies/jewish-studies
Beth Shalom Synagogue, IL: https://bethshalomnb.org/library-resources

18. Collection Development Guides
Jewish Studies Programs
Examine other Jewish Studies programs or other intersecting disciplines
to get a sense of current scholarship and scholarly interests
Berkeley Center for Jewish Studies
http://jewishstudies.berkeley.edu
Columbia Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies:
http://www.iijs.columbia.edu
Harvard Jewish Studies
https://cjs.fas.harvard.edu
Jewish Gender and Womens Studies, JTS
http://www.jtsa.edu/jewish-gender-and-womens-studies
Northwestern University
http://www.jewish-studies.northwestern.edu

19. Outside the Box!
Conduct a survey of peer institutions:
• How do they compare in size?
• What is their main focus?
• Are they the collector of record for a field or
region?
• Are there gaps in their collections?
• Is there an open door for you?
• Example: the Price Library of Judaica’s NEH
Challenge Grant to collect Latin Americana
(see: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00022790/00001)

20. Did You Know …?
Yiddish Periodicals
Ninety-three Yiddish periodicals were in full
circulation in the 1950s. There were four Yiddish daily
newspapers in New York, as well as three in Argentina,
two in Canada, two in France and three in Uruguay.
Semiweeklies, weeklies, and other periodicals were
also published as follows: Argentina (12), Australia (2),
Belgium (1), Brazil (3), Canada (4), Costa Rica (1), Cuba
(2), England (2), France (10), Germany (1), Israel (7),
Mexico (7), Poland (3), Rumania (1), South Africa (3),
United States (33) and Uruguay (1).
Information taken from Yivo Library

21. Question Time!
What is the founding date of the world’s
oldest, still functioning Jewish Library?
A. 1493
B. 1639
C. 1750
D. 1819
E. 1899

22. Finding Judaica Resources
• Bibliographies, search online in the Kiryat Sefer database through the
National Library of Israel website: http://merhav.nli.org.il/
• Recent acquisition lists, e.g.,
https://blogs.cul.columbia.edu/jewishstudiesatcul/tag/new-aquisitions/
• LibGuides, e.g., http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/c.php?g=147575&p=967097
• http://guides.library.brandeis.edu/c.php?g=301731&p=2013423
• Book publisher lists and catalogs, see list of publishers at:
https://jewishbookworld.org/sources/publishers/
• Vendor catalogs, e.g., Kestenbaum’s auctions:
https://www.kestenbaum.net/catalogs.php?menu=Catalogues
• Vendor websites, e.g., Dan Wyman Books:
• http://www.danwymanbooks.com
• Judaica e-resouces list: http://www.library.upenn.edu/cajs/jsr_ix.html
• Finding aids, e.g.,: http://www.cjh.org/scholarship/archival-finding-aids

23. Finding Judaica Resources
• Jewish Book Month
• Sidney Taylor Award
• AJL Reference and Bibliography Award
• AJL Fiction Award
• AJL Judaica Librarianship
• Jewish Book Council Reading Lists
• Reviews: Tablet, Forward, Jewish Chronicle
• Review of Jewish Books

24. Finding Judaica Resources
Other sources of information about Jewish Books
• Database: Footprints: Jewish Books Through Time and Place:
https://footprints.ccnmtl.columbia.edu
• Judaica Europeana: http://www.judaica-europeana.eu
• Blogs:
 Footprints Blog: https://edblogs.columbia.edu/footprints/
 AJL Blog: http://jewishlibraries.org/blog.php;
 the Seforim Blog (All about seforim – new and old, and Jewish
bibliography): http://seforim.blogspot.com;
 Ghosts in the Pages (tales behind the books at the Price Library of
Judaica): https://judaicasuiteblog.wordpress.com;
 Musings of a Jewish Bookseller: http://judaicaused.blogspot.com

25. Outside the Box!
Jewish Heritage Days
A unique program created by the Price Library of Judaica to raise
awareness about the importance of collecting and preserving family
histories. “Jewish Heritage Days” is inspired by the Antiques Roadshow and
the Smithsonian Storybook but with a focus on learning more about
Jewish life in Florida and the Jewish immigrant experience.
Bring along something from your family papers (a letter, diary, document,
photograph, recipe, scrapbook or other piece of ephemera) and share a
memory or short story relating to your piece.
Curators from the Price Library of Judaica will talk to you further about
preserving your family materials, either in your home, or through digital
preservation, or by making an oral history recording. They will also provide
information about the types of materials sought by library collections.
See:http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/Judaica/PublicPrograms/JewishHeritageDays

26. Fun Fact!
Jews and Chess
It is believed that the earliest written recording
of the rules of chess is found in a Hebrew poem
composed in the 13th century by the Spanish
Jewish polymath, Abraham Ibn Ezra.
About half of the leading chess players in the
world in the late 19th and early 20th century
were East European Jews.

27. Question Time!
Which of these comic book characters was
NOT created by a Jewish writer?
A. Superman
B. Tarzan
C. Maus
D. X-Men

28. Step-by-Step Guidance
Environmental Scans:
• What are your faculty researching?
• What are future research trends?
• What’s missing from research?
• What are the community interests?
• How can you align with other local organizations?
• Do other local libraries hold Judaica?
• Are their gaps in your region’s Judaic holdings?
• How do you compare on the national level?

29. Step-by-Step Guidance
Patron Needs Assessment
• Who are your patrons: ages, ethnicity, gender,
languages, interests, distance, technology needs …
• Gather information and data about your users and
their needs: consider surveys, questionnaires,
feedback, etc.
• Who do you wish to be your patrons? Is there a
section of the population you wish to attract?
• What needs are not being met?
• What assets are available to meet these needs?
• What additional things need to be in place to meet
these needs?

30. Step-by-Step Guidance
Institutional Mission Alignment
• What is your institution’s mission
statement?
• Can you find ways to align your
collecting with the mission?
• Are there other existing collections
with which to align?
• What are other institutions doing?
• Should you go out on a limb?

31. Step-by-Step Guidance
Library Funding
• Library budgets: institutional and state
• Grants: local and national
• Private funding: foundations, endowments, naming
opportunities
• GoFundMe Campaigns and other fundraisers
• Gift-in-kind donations

32. Step-by-Step Guidance
Just in Time vs Just in Case
• Pros and Cons of buying materials as
and when needed: healthy budget and
high usage vs short-term vision
• Pros and Cons of buying materials in
anticipation of future needs: long-
term vision vs low usage
• Pros and Cons of buying materials for
preservation: strong mission vs cost

33. Step-by-Step Guidance
Developing your own collection development
policy:
Based on your needs assessments and environmental
scans and institutional alignment and budget, try to
answer the following:
• What will be your focus
• What will you exclude
• Date ranges
• Languages
• Geography
• Formats
• Other considerations – distinctiveness?

34. Outside the Box!
Collaborating With Strangers (CoLAB)
The CoLAB Planning Series,® developed by Bess de Farber at the
University of Florida Libraries, is a large group facilitative process
that supports one-on-one “speed meetings” where participants
quickly reveal their passions, skills and resources that may
otherwise take months of conversations to uncover. The goal is
to create a safe and engaging environment in which participants
from various fields can meet each other, exchange ideas and,
together, build new foundations to start or improve on
collaborative projects.
See:http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/communications/colab/about.html

35. Did You Know …?
There are many customs and rituals
surrounding sacred Jewish books:
• Sacred books must be picked up immediately if they fall.
If a Torah scroll fell to the floor, congregations would fast
for 40 days. Today, most congregations would make a
donation to charity instead.
• Never bring sacred books into the bathroom.
• Never put other objects or books on top of them.
• Never leave a sacred book open when it is not in use.
• Bury used or defunct sacred books

36. Question Time!
Modern Jewish Children’s Literature
emerged in America less than 100 years
ago with what book?
A. Molly’s Pilgrim, by Barbara Cohen
B. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
C. Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl
D. The Adventures of K’tonton, by Sadie
Rose Weilerstein
E. Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry

37. Buying Judaica Resources
Some major vendors in the United States:
• Dan Wyman Books, LLC (http://www.danwymanbooks.com)
• Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller (https://www.klinebooks.com)
• Evelyn Pearl Books (http://www.evelynpearlbooks.com)
• Henry Hollander, Bookseller (https://www.hollanderbooks.com)
• Ideal Book Store (http://www.idealbooks.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi)
• Kestenbaum & Company Auction House (https://www.kestenbaum.net)
• Mizrahi Bookstore (http://stores.ebay.com/Jewish-Bookshop)
• Schwartz Judaica (http://www.schwartzjudaica.com)
• Schoen Books (https://schoenbooks.com)

38. Buying Judaica Resources
Some major vendors outside the United States:
• D. K. Agencies (India): (www.dkagencies.com)
• Facsimile Editions (UK) (http://www.facsimile-editions.com/en/)
• Fishburn Books (UK) (https://www.fishburnbooks.com)
• Jerusalem Books Ltd (Israel) (http://www.jerusalembooks.co.il)
• Kedem Auction Ltd (Israel) (https://www.kedem-auctions.com)
• La Giuntina (Italy) (https://www.giuntina.it)
• Liberia Garcia Cambeiro (Argentina & Brazil): (http://www.cambeiro.com.ar/SP/home.html)
• Libra Books (Rifat Bali; Instanbul): (http://www.librabooks.com.tr)
• Manor House/John Trotter Books (http://www.manorhousebooks.co.uk)
• Robinson Books (Israel) (http://www.robinson.co.il)
• Steimatzky Books (Israel) (https://www.steimatzky.co.il)

39. Buying Judaica Resources
Other vendors with Judaica materials:
• AbeBooks (https://www.abebooks.com)
• Ebay (www.ebay.com)
• Harrassowitz: (https://www.harrassowitz.de)
• List of E-resources vendors:
http://web.nli.org.il/sites/NLI/English/infochannels/Pages/default.aspx
• Additional sources can be found online at: http://www.nationalfinder.com/jbs/index-3.htm

40. Outside the Box!
Exhibition Gallery Talk By Library Donors
Inspired by donations to the Price Library of Judaica,
the Testimony exhibition at the University of Florida
documented the impact of the Holocaust on the
victims and survivors, and gave voice to the immense
aftershock felt by subsequent generations. Exploring
new ways to engage the public, the donors were all
invited to speak at a Gallery Talk about their materials
and why they chose to donate them to the Library.
See:http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/Portals/Judaica/testimony_brochure.pdf

41. Did You Know …?
Torah Scroll Facts:
A Torah Scroll has 304,805 letters; each
page has 42 lines; a scribe must know
4,000 Judaic laws before writing a Torah
Scroll; it takes about one year to make a
Torah; the average cost of a new scroll is
$24,000=$55,000.

42. Question Time!
Which of these famous Hebrew writers
came first?
A. Amos Oz
B. Yehudah Amichai
C. A. B. Yehoshua
D. Leah Goldberg
E. Mendele Mokher Seforim

43. Alternative Methods
Free or inexpensive alternatives
• Gifts in kind: community sources
• De-duplication and weeding programs
• Local library sales
• Bookstores
• Links to open access online resources
• Books to review
• Exhibits; loans

44. Outside the Box!
Jewish Council of North Central Florida and the
Judaica Library at UF Collecting Materials for Yom
Ha'Shoah 2018 Exhibit
The Yom Hasho'ah committee has decided to focus
on second generation narratives for the 2018
program. In addition, we plan to have an exhibit of
holocaust-related materials from local families
(supported by JCNCF and the Judaica Library at
UF). The planned holocaust exhibit will include
pictures, historical documents, small artifacts or
objects, short films, letters, memoirs, or
diaries. The Library hopes these loaned items will
become permanent additions to the collection.

45. Did You Know …?
Albert Einstein once said:
The only thing that you absolutely have to
know, is the location of the library

46. Question Time!
What type of language is Judeo-Tat?
A. A Jewish Romance Language
B. A Jewish Indo-European Language
C. A Jewish Turkic Language
D. A Jewish Iranian Language
E. Other
F. None of the above

47. Go Forth and Multiply!
Key Takeaways:
• Read about other library collections and
collection policies
• Look carefully into your environment, patron
needs and institutional alignment
• Think about ways to fill unmet needs and create
distinctiveness
• Be careful with budgets and resources but try to
also think outside the box
• Look for ways to collaborate
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Join the Judaica
Librarian community through AJL and HaSafran

48. Rebecca J. W. Jefferson
rjefferson@ufl.edu
Any Questions?