Association of Jewish Libraries Publishing

Aronson, Ya'akov

English

Yeshiva Libraries in Israel

Baker, Zachary M.

What We Owe the Genealogists: Genealogy and the Judaica Reference Librarian

Hass Weinberg, Bella

IN THE BEGINNING 
Bringing Judaica Librarianship to Israel 
Bella Hass Weinberg, Editor 
A special section of this issue contains papers delivered at the First International Conference of Judaica and Israeli Librarians, 
held in Jerusalem in July 1990. The following issue (vol. 7, no. 1) is slated to contain papers from the First International 
Symposium on Jewish Children's Literature, which was organized by Dr. Marcia Posner, co-editor of this journal. 
The thesis of this editorial is that the Association of Jewish Libraries, through the publication of this journal and the key role 
that AJL members played in the organization of the international conference, has contributed to an awareness in Israel of 
Judaica librarianship as a distinct specialty. 
Without question, Israel has always been and remains the world's center for the study of Hebrew manuscripts and the history 
of Hebrew books and printing. Some of the serials produced in Israel that deal with these subjects are Kiryat sefer, Areshet, 
and 'Ale sefer. 
There is a vast difference, however, between Judaica bibliography and Judaica librarianship; one focuses on the book, fre-
quently on its physical form, while the other focuses on the institution that houses collections of books, with an emphasis on 
systems for organizing them and providing access to their intellectual content. 
As a visiting lecturer at the Hebrew Un iversity 1s Graduate School of Library and Archive Studies, I had noted that Israeli 
librarians did not consider such subjects as Hebraica and Judaica cataloging worthy of a separate course; in general courses 
on cataloging, as well as Israeli textbooks on the subject, a small amount of attention was devoted to the needs of Hebraica. 
(This point was originally made in my article, 11A Graduate-Level Course on Hebraica and Judaica Cataloging/ (JL vol. 4, no. 
1 (1988) p. 86, col. 1 ).) 
While teaching at Hebrew U., I also worked part-time in the office of Kiryat sefer, the bibliographical quarterly of the Jewish 
National and University Library in Jerusalem, where RaMBI - Index of Articles in Jewish Studies, a classified bibliography, is 
also produced. The rubric selected to accommodate a paper of mine on Romanization was 11Grammar11 (RaMB/1 vol. 16, 
1979, no. 1107). A chapter on Hebraica cataloging was classed under 11General Bibliography-' (RaMB/1 vol. 20-21, 1981, no. 
9). By 1983, RaMBI had added a rubric for 11Libraries and Librarianship/ and since 1984 the items in that section have been 
mainly articles from Judaica Librarianship. 
It was at one of the research library sessions at the First International Conference of Judaica and Israeli Librarians - to be pre-
cise, at the conclusion of the session at which papers on 11Hebrew Subject Headings 11 and 11The Beginning of Hebrew 
Printing 11 were presented (Thursday, July 5, 1990, 8-9:30 AM) - that Ya1akov Aronson, a member of the Organizing 
Committee of the First International Conference, pointed out that there was no Judaica library organization in Israel, and 
proposed that one be founded. 
At the 1991 AJL Convention held in Miami, Mr. Aronson reported that such an organization had indeed been founded in 
Israel, with 100 librarians attending the first meeting. The May/June 1992 AJL Newsletter (vol. XI, no. 2, p. 13) noted that the 
group was established as a subdivision of the Israel Society of Special Libraries and Information Centers and that it has held 
three study days to date. 
The American Judaica librarians who proposed that AJL1s 25th Anniversary conference be held in Israel, and who worked so 
hard to make that proposal a reality, are to be congratulated for bringing - not coals to Newcastle - but Judaica librarianship 
to Israel. 
The editors of Judaica Librarianship welcome the Israeli librarians who are contributing to this journal for the first time, and 
we hope that their number will increase. Recalling the peaceful conditions that prevailed in the Middle East at the time of the 
First International Conference, we wish that peace will become a constant in the region, facilitating travel to Israel as well as 
communication with its many wonderful residents, especially its knowledgeable Judaica librarians. 
As AJL begins to consider the possibility of celebrating its 30th Anniversary by participating in a conference of Hebraica and 
Judaica librarians in Europe, I express the hope that Judaica Librarianship will become truly representative of the field world-
wide. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 6 No. 1-2 Spring 1991-Winter 1992 3 


Bringing Judaica Librarianship to Israel

Sabin Hill, Brad

A Bibliographic Pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Association of Jewish Libraries

Vol. 6:1–2 Cover

Lerman, Linda

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK 
Association of Jewish Libraries - Life Membership Award, 1990* 
Presented to Herbert C. Zafren, 
Director of Libraries 
Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion 
Herbert C. Zafren, introducing you 
tonight as a recipient of the Association 
of Jewish Libraries' Life Membership 
Award is a task I am delighted to per-
form. It is an honor to pay tribute to 
one's teacher and mentor. Tonight, the 
Association acknowledges just a few of 
your many achievements within the field 
of Judaica librarianship, and especially 
as a founder of AJL. 
Herb, you have been responsible for 
reshaping the concept of Judaica librari-
anship, fusing modern, scientific tech-
niques of administration and automation 
with the needs of traditional Judaica 
libraries. You have created new Judaic 
bibliographical publications, as editor 
since 1953 of Studies in Bibliography 
and Book/ore, and also, since 1969, as 
editor of the monographic series 
Bibliographica Judaica. One of the vol-
umes in the series received the AJL 
Reference Book Award in 1988 
(Brisman, 1987). 
Together with Jacob Rader Marcus, 
Director of the American Jewish 
Archives, you created the American 
Jewish Periodical Center and have been 
its Co-Director since 1980. Under your 
editorship, several guides to the hold-
ings of the Center have been published. 
The latest augmented edition, appearing 
in 1984, bears the title: Jewish 
Newspapers and Periodicals on 
Microfilm available at the American 
Jewish Periodical Center ([HUC. AJPC], 
1984). Long before the profession was 
addressing issues of preservation, you 
provided a model. 
*Award presented at the Banquet of the 
Association of Jewish Libraries' 25th 
annual convention, Jerusalem, July 5, 
1990 (13 Tammuz 5750). 
Linda Lerman 
Yale University 
New Haven, CT 
Ease of access to the entire Hebrew 
Union College Library collection has 
been facilitated by the published book 
catalog of the Klau Library ([HUC. Klau], 
1964), Judaica records on OCLC since 
its inception in 1967, microform supple-
ments of the Hebrew titles ([HUC. Klau], 
1981-1985), and now Hebraica records 
on RUN. The Library's generous circula-
tion policies, including interlibrary loan, 
have benefited countless scholars and 
libraries internationally. 
Herb, you have been active in numerous 
organizations related to Judaica bibliog-
raphy or librarianship, such as the 
Council of Archives and Research 
Libraries in Jewish Studies (which you 
served two non-consecutive terms as 
President), the Judaica Conservancy 
Foundation (Zafren, 1989), and the 
Society of Jewish Bibliophiles. 
In addition, you have made the time to 
pursue your own research interests in 
the history of Hebraic printing, which has 
resulted in articles like "Dyhernfurth and 
Shabtai Bass: a typographic profile" 
(Zafren, 1971), "Early Yiddish 
Typography" (Zafren, 1986), and many 
others. 
Consistently, you have demonstrated 
concern for the needs of Judaica librari-
ans, both those in research and special 
libraries and those in schools and syna-
gogues. As the AJL History documents, 
it was through Herb Zafren's efforts 
(beginning in 1963) that the Jewish 
Library Association (of synagogue librar-
ians) and the Jewish Librarians 
Association (of research libraries) 
merged in 1965 (Posner, 1991, p. 111-
112). 
Herb, you are a distinguished Past 
President of this Association, having 
held office from 1965 to 1966, and you 
have always been available to AJL 
administrations for advice and assis-
tance, which I hope will continue. Not 
once, but twice under your chairman-
ship, Cincinnati has hosted the Annual 
AJL convention. 
Your philosophy of librarianship is 
apparent in the manner in which you 
managed the Klau Library staff and 
directed the four libraries of HUC - JIR 
and their impressive collections, as well 
as through your involvement in a wide 
variety of professional organizations. 
It is a philosophy of mutual respect and 
caring for all who staff Judaica libraries. 
It is a philosophy that not only made this 
organization possible, but has remained 
its guiding principle. 
This evening, at the Association's cele-
bration of its twenty-fifth anniversary, 
coinciding with your fortieth anniversary 
at the Hebrew Union College Library, 
the Association of Jewish Libraries pre-
• sen ts to Herbert C. Zafren its Life 
Membership Award. 
References 
Bibliographica Judaica. Cincinnati: 
Hebrew Union College Press, No. 1-
1969-
Brisman, Shimeon. A History and Guide 
to Judaic Encyclopedias and Lexicons. 
Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College 
Press, 1987. (His Research Literature; 
vol. 2); (Bibliographica Judaica; 11 ). 
[HUC. AJPC] Hebrew Union College -
Jewish Institute of Religion. American 
Jewish Periodical Center. Jewish 
Newspapers and Periodicals on 
Microfilm available at the American 
Jewish Periodical Center. Augmented 
ed. Cincinnati: The Center, 1984. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 6 No. 1-2 Spring 1991-Winter 1992 135 
[HUC.Klau], 1964. Hebrew Union 
College - Jewish Institute of Religion. 
Klau Library. Dictionary Catalog of the 
Klau Library, Cincinnati. Boston: G.K. 
Hall, 1964. 32 vols. 
[HUC. Klau], 1981-1985. Hebrew Union 
College - Jewish Institute of Religion. 
Klau Library. Hebrew titles, 1964-1971: 
Dictionary Catalog of the Klau Library, 
Cincinnati. Supplement. Cincinnati: 
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute 
of Religion, 1981. 6 microfilm reels. 
-.Hebrew titles, 1972-1982. Cincinnati: 
Hebrew Union College Library, 1985. 79 
microfiche. 
Posner, Marcia W. "The Association -of 
Jewish Libraries: A Chronicle," Judaica 
Librarianship vol. 5 no. 2 (Spring 1990 -
Winter 1991), p.110-150. 
Studies in Bibliography and Book/ore. 
Cincinnati: Library of the Hebrew Union 
College-Jewish Institute of Religion, vol. 
1- 1953-
Zafren, Herbert C. "Dyhernfurth and 
Shabtai Bass: A Typographic Profile." In: 
Studies in Jewish Bibliography, History 
and Literature in honor of I. Edward Kiev 
(New York: KTAV, 1971), p. 543-580A. 
Zafren, Herbert C. "Early Yiddish 
Typography," Jewish Book Annual, vol. 
44 (1986), p. 106-119. 
Zafren, Herbert C. "From Hochschule to 
Judaica Conservancy Foundation," 
Jewish Book Annual, vol. 47 (1989), p. 
6~6. • 
Linda P. Lerman, Judaica Curator, Yale 
University, is President of the 
Association of Jewish Libraries (1990-
1992), and former Judaica Librarian at 
the HUC-JIR Klau Library (Cincinnati, 
1976-1979). 
An Open Letter to the Members of 
AJL 
August 8, 1990 
Lest the point of this letter be lost in too 
many words, let me record right at the 
start my happiness and thanks at being 
selected for the AJL Life Membership 
Award. 
At the banquet in Jerusalem, when the 
Award was presented so beautifully and 
eloquently, I was literally speechless; 
that is, on good advice, I had not pre-
pared a speech. I could not have known 
ahead of time what would be said or 
how the official certificate would read. 
Now that I do know, it is still not easy to 
"respond." 
I knew in advance, of course, that I had 
been chosen for the honor; and I sus-
pected that there was to be a tie-in with 
the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 
Association of Jewish Libraries because 
I had been a founder and its first presi-
dent. I am inordinately proud of my 
involvement, as a catalyst, in the merger 
of two earlier organizations into AJL and 
of my activity over the years in the pro-
fession. But it must be said that much 
recognition is due those who founded 
and led those earlier groups, the many 
who helped to shape AJL twenty-five 
years ago, and those who have, through 
the years, turned AJL into the significant 
professional vehicle that it is today. 
About all I was able to blurt out at the 
banquet - overwhelmed as I was with 
emotion - was thanks and a comment 
that suggested that I have a kind of 
parental feeling towards AJL itself and 
towards many of the younger people 
with whom I have worked in AJL, in the 
Libraries of Hebrew Union College, and 
in a large variety of professional under-
takings. But I have also learned much 
from my "children" and colleagues, past 
and present, just as I learned from my 
mentors in my earlier years. 
As we celebrate AJL's twenty-five years, 
I am delighted that you tendered me a 
Life Achievement Award, as I also cele-
brate my fortieth anniversary at HUG 
and my sixty-fifth birthday. I feel very 
comfortable about the future of our pro-
fession, as outstanding people like Linda 
Lerman, incoming President of the 
Association, take over leadership and 
build new strength in Judaica librarian-
136 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 6 No. 1-2 Spring 1991-Winter 1992 
ship. It has been heartening to be recog-
nized for my life's activities, and it is 
heartening to feel hopeful about the 
future. 
NEWMAN 
Sincerely, 
Herbert C. Zatren 
(Continued from p. 134) 
References 
Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. London: 
Granada Publishing, 1979. 
Guide to Judaica Videotapes in the 
Harvard College Library. Prepared by 
Charles Berlin. Cambridge, MA: 
Harvard University Library, 1989. 
Skirball, Sheba. Films of the Holocaust: 
An Annotated Filmography of 
Collections in Israel. New York: Garland 
Publishing, 1990. 
Roberta Newman is Curator of 
Iconographic Materials at the YIVO 
Institute tor Jewish Research in New 
York and a master's student specializ-
ing in the history of photography and 
Jewish history at New York University. 
Book Received 
Constructive and Destructive Uses of 
Film as Propaganda: Case Studies 
from Jewish History, [by] Marilyn 
Gold Koolik, Director, Steven 
Spielberg Jewish Film Archive. 
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University 
Library, 1992. 25 p. (The Max and 
Irene Engel Levy Memorial Lecture, 
October 10, 1991.) 
The author of this pamphlet is one of 
the contributors to the proceedings of 
the conference on Jewish film, which 
is reviewed above. 


Association of Jewish Libraries — Life Membership Award, 1990 Presented to Herbert C. Zafren

Kutnick, Donna

SCATTER OF THE LITERATURE 
This column was introduced in the pre-
ceding issue of Judaica Librarianship 
(vol. 5 no. 2, p. 248). 
Please send articles of interest to 
Judaica librarians that are found in other 
journals - both Jewish and general - to: 
Donna Kutnick 
Library Director 
Neumann College 
Concord Road 
Aston, PA 19014 
Adler, Elhanan. "Decisions and 
Changes Regarding the Cataloging in 
the University Libraries," Yad Lakore, 
vol. 25, no. 2 (Jan. 1991 ), p. 69-74. In 
Hebrew. 
This is a report of the Inter-University 
Sub-Committee on Cataloging and 
Collection Development. The committee 
was founded in 1983 to help standardize 
cataloging practices and procedures in 
Israeli university libraries. Although the 
libraries all followed AACR2, their 
results were not always the same. From 
i 984 to 1986, the committee worked on 
problems in descriptive cataloging. In 
the end, everyone had to make compro-
mises, and cooperation between 
branches of the seven university 
libraries was encouraged. 
Some major decisions concerning cata-
loging issues were made by the Sub-
committee: how to treat variations in the 
spelling of Hebrew words lacking vow-
els; when to capitalize non-Hebrew 
words; whether to use English or Latin 
names for the classics; the use of abbre-
viations; how to catalog Israeli military 
material; and how to catalog foreign-lan-
guage books translated into English. 
Fleischer, Ezra. Books, Librarians and 
Libraries in a Technological Era. 
Jerusalem: Jewish National and 
University Library Press, 1990. 15p. 
Speech delivered at the opening session 
of the First International Conference of 
Judaica and Israeli Librarians, 
Jerusalem, July 3, 1990. In Hebrew. 
Donna Kutnick 
Neumann College 
Aston, PA 
In his welcoming remarks to the First 
International Conference of Judaica and 
Israeli Librarians, Fleischer noted that 
the traditional Jew pauses to recite a 
blessing before he takes action. He dis-
cusses the importance of this pause and 
the disturbing absence of one in the new 
struggle of culture versus technology, 
Fleischer feels that man should pause 
before he embraces technology. 
However, he notes that the thrust of our 
educational curriculum, which empha-
sizes quick solutions to problems, does 
not leave time for pause and contempla-
tion. One has difficulty giving the 
humanities their just due in the present 
technological age. Fleischer sees 
libraries as the last bastion in the strug-
g I e to preserve the humanities. As 
guardians of our cultural heritage, librari-
ans must undertake the awesome task 
of preserving this heritage. 
Grunberger, Michael. "A Collection 
Spanning Centuries: LC is One of 
World's Foremost Centers for Hebraic 
Studies," Library of Congress 
Information Bulletin, vol. 50, no. 12 
(June 17, 1991), p. 227-229. 
In the summer of 1991, The Library of 
Congress held an exhibit honoring its 
Hebraic Section, entitled "From the Ends 
of the Earth: Judaica Treasures of the 
Library of Congress." The result was an 
eclectic blending of items relating to the 
Jewish-American experience, along with 
Hebrew incunabula and other examples 
of published works spanning centuries 
of Jewish history. 
In his description of the exhibit, 
Grunberger, Head of LC's Hebraic 
Section, traces the history of the library's 
collection of Hebraica. The core collec-
tion comes from the library of Ephraim 
Deinard and was donated by philan-
thropist Jacob Schiff at the beginning of 
the 20th century. The collection expand-
ed during this century and includes not 
only books from the American Jewish 
experience (including a substantial 
Yiddish collection), but also books 
received from Israel as a result of the 
enactment of Public Law 480 in 1958. 
172 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 6 No. 1-2 Spring 1991-Winter 1992 
Also represented are rabbinics, liturgy, 
Hebrew literature, and numerous 
Holocaust yisker-bikher, which are of 
interest to genealogists. 
[A review of "From the Ends of the 
Earth," by Esther Nussbaum, is summa-
rized below.] 
Lazinger, Susan S. "ALEPH: Israel's 
Research Library Network: Background, 
Evolution, and Implications for 
Networking in a Small Country," 
Information Technology and Libraries, 
vol. 10, no. 4 (December 1991 }, p. 275-
291. 
Lazinger, a lecturer in library science at 
the Hebrew University, traces the need 
for and development of the online sys-
tem ALEPH (Automated Library 
Expandable Program Hebrew University 
of Jerusalem). Initial attempts to link 
Israel's university librarfes were unsuc-
cessful for both economic and practical 
reasons. Each library had different 
requirements, but all recognized the 
compelling need for a standardized 
cooperative system. 
Weighing all options, the libraries settled 
for a decentralized approach which 
allowed individual libraries some flexibili-
ty and a good deal of autonomy. One 
example is the decision not to adhere to 
the MARC format. As Elhanan Adler 
noted, " ... there is no question that ulti-
mately the Israeli library community will 
wish to align itself with international bibli-
ographic standards .... "(p.283). 
However, economics and pragmatism 
prevailed in every case; short-term 
expediency was preferred over long-
term possibilities. 
Despite many flaws, ALEPH has suc-
ceeded in giving individual Israeli 
libraries both flexibility and access. The 
result has been a compromise between 
a controlled system like RLIN {the 
Research libraries Information Network) 
and a decentralized system. Ultimately, 
each library and each country must 
decide what is the most practical way to 
achieve its goals. For the moment, 
ALEPH appears to be the right answer 
for Israel's academic libraries. 
Miller, David Neal. "Bibliography as 
Ideology," Yiddish, vol. 8, no. 1 (1991), 
p. 63-74. 
Miller, the author of Bibliography of 
Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1950 - 1959, 
reminds us that bibliography belongs to 
the category of literary criticism because 
it shapes the opinions of readers. 
Underestimating the bibliographer's edi-
torial strength has always been a factor 
in literary criticism, especially in the case 
of Isaac Bashevis Singer. This situation 
is the result of several phenomena: 
Singer wrote in a language understood 
by a small minority; many of his works 
initially appeared in serial form in 
Yiddish newspapers; and, in fact, many 
original published versions of his works 
are unidentified and, if they have been, 
are very difficult to locate. 
There is ambivalence by Jewish and 
Israeli writers towards Yiddish as a living 
language. Moreover, there is another 
argument among Singer scholars as to 
which approach is preferable in present-
ing bibliographic data on Singer's 
Yiddish works: romanization or the origi-
nal script. The proponents for romaniza-
tion argue that through this method, the 
title is put in context with other Singer 
works for those people who do not know 
Yiddish but are able to search titles in 
Latin characters. The lack of standard-
ized norms for printing Yiddish is still a 
problem, with many printers employing 
Hebrew graphemes. 
Indeed, the bibliographer, like the editor 
and compiler, has an intellectual agen-
da, a point of discussion that he wishes 
to advance. By determining what lan-
guage access the reader will have to 
Singer, the bibliographer to a large 
extent determines the opinions one will 
eventually form regarding Singer, his 
work, and his role in literary history. 
Nussbaum, Esther. "Judaica Treasures 
at the Library of Congress," Amit 
Woman, vol. 64, no. 2 (November-
December 1991 ), p. 11-14. 
Esther Nussbaum reviews the exhibit, 
"From the Ends of the Earth: Judaica 
Treasures of the Library of Congress." 
Briefly describing the history of the col-
lection, from its founding in 1914 as the 
Semitic Division, Nussbaum describes 
its growth, as it expanded into areas not 
only relevant to the American Jewish 
experience, but reflective of Jewish cul-
ture throughout the ages. 
Special mention is made of "Judaica 
firsts," including books from the library of 
Thomas Jefferson on great Jewish 
philosophers, as well as histories of the 
Jews' battle against the Romans. There 
are woodcut illustrations of blessing the 
Sabbath candles (text in Yiddish, pub-
lished in Amsterdam), books of poems 
by Emma Lazarus and Penina Moise, 
and a handwritten copy of Irving Berlin's 
song, "God Bless America." With access 
to The Rare Book and Special 
Collections Division as well as to the 
Hebraic Section, the exhibit's curators 
were able to present the diverse nature 
of the American Jewish experience. 
Rippin, Andrew. "Microsoft MS-DOS 
with Hebrew & Arabic Language 
Support," Bits & Bytes Review (April 
1990), p. 17-20. 
This article is basically a hands-on man-
ual for the installation of MS-DOS H LS 
(Hebrew Language Support). The pro-
gram Rippin describes has both Hebrew 
and Arabic capabilities; surprisingly, he 
finds that the Arabic DOS system is 
more successful than the Hebrew. 
It is recommended that Judaica librarians 
read this article in conjunction with load-
ing the software. The printed documenta-
tion for the program is Microsoft MS-
DOS Manager's User's Guide Hebrew 
Supplement, to be used along with the 
MS-DOS Manager User's Guide. 
This article reminds the Judaica librarian 
of the constantly improved programs 
with bi- and multilingual capabilities, and 
that a multilingual integrated catalog is 
not far away. 
Rowland-Smith, Diana. "Review of 
Karaite Bible Manuscripts from the Cairo 
Genizah (by Geoffrey Khan ... 
Cambridge University Press, 1990)," 
L'Eylah, (Sept. 1991, No. 32), p. 59-61. 
Vol. 9 in the Cairo Genizah Series of 
Cambridge University, contains seven-
teen documents, texts, and Bible frag-
ments thought to be derived from the 
Karaites. A sect that was founded in 
Babylonia in the early 8th century, the 
Karaites believed that the Bible was the 
only real authority, and they rejected the 
Oral Law. For a short period, they consti-
tuted a threat to normative Judaism, but 
the polemical works of Saadia Gaon, writ-
ten to counter the Karaite threat, resulted 
in a strengthened rabbinic Judaism. 
The unusual characteristic of Karaite 
documents is that Hebrew was written in 
Arabic letters. This phenomenon was 
discussed in the nineteenth century, 
when Reinhart Hoerning, a German 
scholar, published other manuscripts of 
the Karaites. Khan's book demonstrates 
conclusively that some of the fragments 
sold by Jerusalem dealer William 
Shapira to the British Museum in the 
1880s had been obtained in Egypt and 
were Karaite manuscripts. These newly 
published manuscripts shed additional 
light on the Karaites and their beliefs, 
and give us a clearer picture of Jewish 
life in the tenth century. 
Weinberg, Bella Hass. "Defining the 
Scope of Judaica: Complementary 
Problems in Bibliographic Control and 
Bibliographic Organization," Library 
Acquisitions: Practice & Theory, vol. 15, 
no. 2 (1991), p. 155-163. 
The author discusses the overlapping 
involvement of the bibliographer and the 
subject cataloger in the field of Judaica. 
This is partly a result o.f the unique 
nature of the subject and its possible 
definitions. The author points out four 
areas which can and do overlap at dif-
ferent points, and discusses them from 
two perspectives: that of the bibliograph-
er and that of the cataloger. The major 
issues discussed are: overlap of Judaica 
with Hebraica and Israeli publications; 
continuous phenomena in Jewish stud-
ies; Judaism as a religion vs. Jews as 
an ethnic group; and Who is a Jew? 
Disagreeing with those who feel that cat-
aloging is an isolated component of 
library technical services, the author 
argues that cataloging and collection 
development are intertwined. A success-
ful Judaica acquisitions librarian must 
also have a good knowledge of cata-
loging to be most effective. With the 
advent of Hebrew online systems (e.g., 
RUN), the boundary between these two 
areas should become less distinct. 
Wolpe, David J. "And Another Thing ... : 
The Gentle Art of Gift-Receiving," 
Logos, 1/2 (1990), p. 55-56. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 6 No. 1-2 Spring 1991-Winter 1992 173 
The author, who is director of the 
Ostrow Library, University of Judaism 
(Los Angeles), writes about a common 
dilemma faced by many librarians: 
whether to accept old collections. There 
is something about personal libraries 
that makes them difficult to discard: they 
symbolize "a gesture of benevolence to 
the ages." Despite the fact that a 
Judaica library may already own many 
of the items, and that, consequently, 
there really are no practical justifications 
for keeping these old collections, the 
books nonetheless represent a culture 
and a way of life that is rapidly disap-
pearing. In a more personal sense, they 
remind us of the lives of those who once 
owned the books. And for that reason, 
we keep the books. 
Zahavy, Tzvee. "On the Computer 
Front: The CD-ROM Computer 
Resources: Rabbinic Literature and 
Bibles: Computerised Torah Treasure; 
Master Search Bible; The FABS 
Reference Bible; The Bible Library." 
Association for Jewish Studies 
Newsletter second series, No. 5 (#41) 
(Fall 1990), p. 3-6. 
Four packages relevant to research in 
Jewish studies are described and evalu-
ated in terms of such features as 
retrieval capabilities, documentation, 
and support. The packages are highly 
recommended. 
Donna Kutnick is the Director of Library 
and Media Services at Neumann 
College, Aston, PA, and is currently the 
President of the Philadelphia Area 
Chapter of the Association of Jewish 
Libraries. She previously served as 
Assistant Director of the Mordecai M. 
Kaplan Library of the Reconstructionist 
Rabbinical College. Ms. Kutnick has 
also worked at The Balch Institute for 
Ethnic Studies, Gratz College, Brandeis 
University, and the Jewish National and 
University Library in Jerusalem. 
A Sampler of Jewish Ame-rican Folklo_re 
By Josepha Sherman 
Someone once observed that "A Jew is composed of 28 percent fear, 2 percent sugar, and 70 percent nerve." Certainly the Jews have 
needed every bit of that nerve over centuries of persecution. 
The struggle and triumph of Jewishness, author Josepha Sherman 
observes, "is reflected in the vast body of Jewish folklore, which 
emphasizes ethical behaviour and survival through cleverness, 
kindness, and above all, humor." 
In this book, Josepha Sherman presents the rich and varied folklore 
of the American Jew. Her examination of Jewish-American traditions 
includes lunar holidays and everyday observances; wonder tales 
from the Sorcerer's Apprentice to a Jewish variation on Cinderella; 
tales of dybbuks, golems and other supernatural beings; and 
superstitions and traditions surrounding birth, marriage and death. 
Hershele, the trickster of Jewish legend, is here, as are the skewed 
logic of the Wise Chelm, stories of clever folk and survivors, 
and proverbs. 
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17 4 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 6 No. 1-2 Spring 1991-Winter 1992 


Scatter of the Literture

Ricky Dreyfuss

edition. This allowed me to discover that 
there is a more specific LC subject heading 
than Conservative Judaism: Traditional 
Conservative Judaism. 
The new edition still lacks the reciprocals 
of use references ( used for), and the gen­
eration of other reciprocals does not seem 
automatic. For example, under Hebrew 
language - Pronoun, we find BT Hebrew 
language- Nominals, but under the latter 
term, we do not find NT Hebrew language 
- Pronoun. The use of thesaurus software
that generates reciprocals automatically
(Milstead, 1990) would obviate this type of
problem.
While neither completely independent of 
LC publications on subject cataloging nor 
totally error-free, the Galron compilation is 
the most comprehensive, accurate list of 
LC subject headings for Judaica available. 
The compiler notes in the cover letter to 
the review copy that he is working on a 
"third updated edition." We look forward to 
its publication. 
References 
Milstead, Jessica L. "Thesaurus Software Pack­
ages," in: ASIS '90: Proceedings of the 53rd An­
nual Meeting of the American Society for 
Information Science. (Medford, N.J.: Learned 
Information, 1990), vol. 27, pp. 3-15. 
Weinberg, Bella Hass [1990a]. "Compilations of 
Library of Congress Subject Headings for Juda­
ica: Comparison, Evaluation, and Recommen­
dations," Judaica Librarianship, vol. 5, no. 1 
(Spring 1989-Winter 1990), pp. 36-40. 
Weinberg, Bella Hass [1990b]. Review of: 
Galron-Goldschlager, Joseph, comp. Library of 
Congress Subject Headings in Jewish Studies. 
1st ed. (s.l: s.n), Dec. 1989. AJL Newsletter, vol. 
IX, no. 3 (Sept./Oct. 1990), p. 12. 
Dr. Bella Hass Weinberg is an Associate 
Professor in the Division of Library and In­
formation Science at St. John's University 
and Consulting Librarian for YIVO. She 
has published extensively on Romaniza­
tion and on subject analysis. 
Library of Congress Classification for Judaica: 
Recent Changes (1989-1990) 
Ricky Dreyfuss 
Yeshiva University 
New York, NY 
Introduction 
The additions and changes to LC classification reported in this 
column were culled from the following Lists of LC Classification 
Additions and Changes: 235 (July-September 1989), 236 (Oc­
tober-December 1989), 237 (January-March 1990), and 238 
(April-June 1990). 
The scope of this column encompasses the entire LC classifica­
tion, with particular emphasis on the classes of major importance 
to Judaica libraries. Changes in LC classification as they pertain 
to Judaica, including additions, cancellations, or replacements of 
class numbers are reported. 
We welcome suggestions and comments from our readers. 
Please write: 
Ricky Dreyfuss 
Gottesman Library 
Yeshiva University 
New York, NY 10033 
BM-Judaism 
BM In List 235, the Library of Congress corrected 
503.8 a misspelling of the word Pilpul (until now er­
roneously spelled Philpul) under class number 
BM503.B (use of the method of Pilpul in the 
Babylonian Talmud). 
BM 
525 
A6 
122-12279
BM 
525 
A6 
13 
BM 
525 
A6 
15 
BM 
530 
Under class number BM525.A6 (Individual 
cabbalistic Zohar supplements), the same list 
corrected another error, with the addition of the 
following note under: 
BM525.A6I22-2279 ldra de-maskena 
(change from "1" to "I" following ".A6" here 
and through ".A615" below) 
The schedules until now read: 
A6122-2279 ldra de-maskena 
A613 ldra raba 
A615 ldra zuta 
In all three cases, the number "1" is to be cor­
rected to the letter "I", thereby adding a second 
cutter to this class number for those Zohar texts 
(i.e., A6I22-2279, A6I3, A6I5}. 
List 235 added the following note under 
BM530 (Jewish Myths and Legends): 
cf. PN6120.95.J5, Jewish legends and tales 
(PN6120.95.J5 is the class number for special 
collections of fiction by subject or form, A-Z.) 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 5 No. 2 Spring 1990-Winter 1991 223 
BM 
545 
BM 
645 
P64 
BM 
675 
BM 
720 
N6 
BM 
729 
H65 
BM 
729 
W38 
Under the class number BM545 (General 
works of the Jewish philosopher Maimonides), 
List 238 has provided a detailed breakdown for 
his collected works: 
BM545 General works 
Collected works 
.A2 Original. By date 
.A212-219 Translations. By lan-
guage and date 
Selected works 
.A25 Original. By date 
.A2512-2519 Translations. By lan-
guage and date 
.A3-2 Separate works. By ti-
tle 
List 237 added the followi11g note and new cut-
ter under the class number BM645 (Other topics 
in dogmatic Judaism, A-Z): 
Kings and rulers, see .P64 
.P64 Politics. Kings and rulers 
List 235 once again addressed a needed spell-
ing correction under class number BM675 
(Special liturgical books, A-Z) with the following 
note under the breakdown for Ashkenazi texts or 
texts of unspecified rite: 
(change from "Ashenazi") 
Under class number BM720 (Practical Juda-
ism, other rites and customs, A-Z), the following 
four notes have been added as well as the word 
Aliens to the cutter .N6 (referring to the position 
of Aliens in Judaism): 
Aliens, see . N6 
Gentiles, see .N6 
Goyim, see .N6 
Heathen, see .N6 
.N6 Non-Jews (Aliens, Goyim, Gentiles, Hea-
then), 
Position of 
In Lists 235 and 237, the Library of Congress 
added the following cutters and notes under 
BM729 (Other special topics in practical Juda-
ism, A-Z); 
Gays, see . H65 
Lesbians, see .H65 
.H65 Homosexuality. Gays. Lesbians 
.W38 Water 
224 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 5 No. 2 Spring 1990-Winter 1991 
BS 
579 
J83 
BS 
580 
A25 
BS 
580 
D55 
BS 
580 
H24 
BS 
680 
C69 
BS 
680 
H85 
BS 
680 
165 
BS 
680 
J8 
BS 
680 
P36 
BS 
680 
S855 
BS 
1199 
P69 
BS 
1451 
BS- The Bible 
Under class number 8S579 (Collective biogra-
phy of other special groups of the Bible, A-Z), List 
237 added the following cutter: 
.J83 Judges 
Lists 235, 236 and 237 each added a cutter 
under 8S580 (Individual Old Testament charac-
ters, A-Z): 
.A25 Abel 
.D55 Dinah 
.H24 Hagar 
The following cutters and note were added by 
the Library of Congress in Lists 235, 236, and 
238 under class number 8S680 (Auxiliary topics 
about the Bible, not otherwise provided for, A-Z): 
.C69 Creation 
.H85 Human rights 
.165 Iran 
Under .J8 Justice add the words: $ocial jus· 
tice 
. P36 Patriarchy 
Social justice, see .J8 
.S855 Suicide 
Under class number 8S1199 (Topics about, or 
in, the Old Testament, not elsewhere provided 
for, A-Z), List 236 added the following cutter: 
.P69 Preaching 
In List 237, the Library of Congress added the 
following note under class number 8S1451 
(Study and teaching of the Psalms): 
( Change indentation of line and line below) 
i.e. Proverbs, see BS1461 + • 
Song of Solomon, see BS1481 + 
0-History (General) PJ-Oriental Philology and Literature 
D The following note was added by the Library of PJ Class number PJ5050 (Individual medieval 
802 Congress in List 238 under class number D802 5050 authors and works through 1700, A-Z) was ex-
(Occupied territory. Laws, etc. of World War 11): B4 panded in Lists 235 and 236 with the estab-
Including underground movements. lishment of the following cutters: 
.B4 Berechiah ben Natroni, 12113th cent. 
(The same list adds the same note under class PJ .J33 Jagel, Abraham be Hananiah dei 
number D623, which is for Occupied territories. 5050 Galicchi, 16117th cent. 
Laws, etc. of World War I.) J33 
OS-Jewish History Class number PJ5053 (Hebrew literature, indi-
vidual authors, A-Z, 1886-1945) was expanded 
OS List 237 corrected a spelling error, and List 238 in List 238. The Library of Congress added notes 
113.8 added a new cutter under class number OS113.B and also added and/or changed the headings for 
T86 (Other elements in Israel's population, A-Z): the following authors and their respective cutters: 
.S4 Sephardim 
(until now it read: Shepardim) PJ .F7 is the existing cutter for Frishman, David, 
.T86 Turkmen 5053 1865?-1922. The following reference from a 
(Turkmen or Turkomen are Muslims who are F7 variant of his name and birth date has been 
members of tribes of East Turkic stock dwelling in added to the schedule: 
Soviet Socialist Republics of western Asia.) Frischman, David, 1859-1922, see .F7 
DS The Library of Congress has expanded the PJ Pen, Alexander, 1906-1972 
135 class number OS135 (History of Jews outside of 5053 (Under this new heading, the cutter .P38 has er-
G3315 Palestine by region or country, A-Z) with the ad- P38 roneously been left out.) 
dition of the following cutter in List 236, under the The following note is to be added to the 
History of Jews in Germany in the 19th and 20th schedule: 
centuries: Penn, Alexander, 1906-1972, see .P38 
.G3315 ➔ 1933-1945 
PJ Rimon, Joseph Zvi, 1899-1958 
OS The following correction was made by the Li- 5053 (Under this new heading, the cutter .R53 has er-
151 brary of Congress in List 237 under class R53 roneously been left out.) . 
W7 number OS151 (Biography and memoirs of Zion- The following note is to be added to the 
ists, A-Z), for the cutter . Wl: schedule: 
.W7 Wolffsohn, David Rimon, Y. Zvi, 1889-1958, see .R53 
( Change from "Wolffohn".) 
PJ List 237 reported the following caption change 
JX-lnternational Law 5061- under PJ5061-5069 (Other languages used by 
5069 Jews, pp. 38-43): 
JX List 238 expanded the class number JX4048 ( Change caption here and continuation lines 
4048 (International status of countries, A-Z) by adding through p. 43) 
the following cutter and note: Until now the caption read: PJ5061-5069 
.18 Israel. Palestine General (VIII). It now says: Mixed Jewish di-
Palestine, see .18 alects, Special, Yiddish (Judea-German). 
M-Music In class number PJ5129 (Yiddish literature, in-
dividual authors, A-Z), the following cutters and 
M An interesting spelling correction by the Li- notes are to be added to the schedule, according 
110 brary of Congress appeared in List 236 under to Lists 235, 237, and 238: 
S5 class number M110 (Other wind instruments) PJ .A94 Austri-Dunn, Isaias 
and M270 (Duos with pianoforte and other instru- 5129 The following note is to be added to the 
ments): A94 schedule: 
M M110.S5 Shofar calls Austridian, Yeshayahu, 1912- , see 
270 ( Change from "Shophar.") .A94 
S5 M270. S5 Shofar 
( Change from "Shophar.") PJ .P32 Papiernikow, Joseph, 1899-
5129 The following note is to be added to the 
P32 schedule: 
Papyernikov, Yosef, see .P32 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 5 No. 2 Spring 1990-Winter 1991 225 
PJ 
5129 
R36 
PJ 
5129 
S3218 
PJ 
5129 
S432 
PJ 
5129 
Z453 
PJ 
8190 
PJ 
8192 
PN 
6071 
PQ 
4320 
Y53 
PQ 
4324 
PR 
2795 
YS-52 
.R36 Razumny, Mark, 1899-
The following note is to be added to the 
schedule: 
Razumni, Mark, see .R36 
.S3218 Schwartz, Selwyn S. 
The following note is to be added to the 
schedule: 
Schwartz, Shloime, see .S3218 
. S432 Sheps, Elias, 1892-
The following note is to be added to the 
schedule: 
Almi, A., 1892-1963, see .S432 
.Z453 Zeli~ovitsh, Gets!, 1863-1926 
Under the class number PJB190 (Arabic Liter-
ature out.side the Arabian Peninsula), List 238 re-
ports an alteration and expansion in the scope of 
the number. Until now, next to the number 
PJB 190 was the caption Other, A-Z. Now the 
caption reads Palestine. Israel (XXV), and class 
number PJ8192 has been added for Other, A-Z: 
PJ8190 Palestine. Israel (XXV) 
PJ8192 Other, A-Z 
PN-Literature 
List 235 added the following note, which is to 
appear after the existing cutter .JS (Jewish leg-
ends and tales) under PN6071 (Collections of 
general literature by subject, A-Z): 
cf. BM530 Jewish myths and legends 
PO-Italian Literature 
In List 237, the Library of Congress expanded 
class number PQ4320 (Translated works of 
Dante in non-Slavic languages, A-Z) through the 
creation of the cutter . Y53 Yiddish. 
The same list added the following note under 
PQ4324 (Translation of Dante's works in artificial 
or mixed (pidgin or creole) languages, A-Z), 
which refers the cataloger to the aforementioned 
new cutter: 
cf. PQ4320. Y53 Yiddish 
PR-English Literature 
Under class number PR2795 (Translation of 
the works of William Shakespeare, By language, 
A-Z), List 237 changed its former reference note, 
Yiddish, see PR2800. Y5, to create a new cutter 
under the former class number: 
. YS-52 Yiddish 
226 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 5 No. 2 Spring 1990-Winter 1991 
The following note is to be added to the 
schedules here: 
(Add ".YS-52"; change line from reference) 
In consonance with this change, the same 
List cancels the note under class number 
PR2796 (Translations of William Shake-
speare's works into Asian languages): 
Yiddish, see PR2800. Y5, and also cancels 
the cutter . Y5 Yiddish under the class 
number PR2800 (Translations of Shake-
speare's works into mixed languages, A-Z) . 
[Editor's Note: A previous column (JL vol. 4 no. 2 (1989), p. 156 
noted the downgrading of Yiddish in the LC Classification from a 
language to a "special topic" in Germanic linguistics. The 
changes reported here, in contrast, represent the upgrading of 
Yiddish from a mixed language to a full-fledged one. -8. H. W] 
PT 
2030 
Y53 
PT 
2475 
Y53 
PT -German Literature 
List 237 added the cutter . Y53 Yiddish to the 
class number PT 2030 (Translations of works of 
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe into other Euro-
pean languages) and to PT2475 (Translations of 
works of Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller 
into other European languages). 
The same list adds the following note under 
PT2038 (Translations of works of Johann Wolf-
gang von Goethe into mixed languages, A-Z): 
*(.Y6) Yiddish, see PT2030.Y53 
(Until now .Y6 was the cutter for Yiddish under 
this class number) 
and instructs the cataloger to: 
(Parenthesize ". Y6"; change line to refer-
ence) 
Under class number PT2481 (Translations of 
works of Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller 
into other European languages), the Library of 
Congress adds the following note: 
*(.Y5) Yiddish, see PT2475.Y53 
(Until now . Y5 was the cutter for Yiddish under 
this class number) 
and instructs the cataloger to: 
(Parenthesize ".Y5"; change indentation 
of line; change line to reference) 
Z-Library Science 
Z In List 235, the Library of Congress added the 
695.1 cutter .R424 Refugees under Z695.1 (Cataloging 
R424 of literature by subject, A-Z). 
Ricky Dreyfuss is Judaica Cataloger at the Mendel Gottesman 
Library of Hebraica-Judaica, Yeshiva University, New York, NY 
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Judaica Librarianship Vol. 5 No. 2 Spring 1990-Winter 1991 227 


Library of Congress Classification for Judaica: Recent Changes

Vol. 5:2 Front Matter

Cutter, Charles

Oppenheim, Micha F.

Recommended Judaica Reference works, 1989-1990

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