Association of Jewish Libraries Publishing

Association of Jewish Libraries

Vol. 4:2 Table of Contents.pdf

Hart, Merrily F.

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE 
AJL'S Sydney Taylor Awards for Children's Literature* 
Merrily F. Hart 
Tonight we honor two fine books with the -
Sydney Taylor Book Award for juvenile liter-
ature. The Number on My Grandfather's 
Arm, written by David A. Adler, with pho-
tographs by Rose Eicheribaum, published 
by the Union of American Hebrew Con-
gregations; and The Return by Sonia Levi-
tin, published by Atheneum, are the 1987 
award winners. 
The Committee read and reviewed over 40 
books, and I want to thank Leni Allbaugh, 
Edie Salzman, Geraldine Powers, Jan 
Sherman, and Aileen Grossberg for their 
thoughtful consideration of all these books. 
It's a pleasure to honor the winning books, 
but it is also useful and enjoyable to review 
the many books we considered for the 
award, to muse over the places and people 
that inspired the authors of juvenile books, 
and to mention some of the best books. We 
have again distributed a list of "Selected 
Jewish Children's Books Too Good To 
Miss." 
Jerusalem always inspires, even in 1987 
when the peace of Jerusalem is non-exis-
tent. Jerusalem Shining Still, published by 
Harper and Row, is an. unusual and out-
standing book, with handsome tinted wood-
cuts. The history of Jerusalem, com-
pressed into this small book, is poetically 
related by Karla Kuskin. 
Wonderful fictional characters inspired the 
authors and illustrators. In one of Kar-Ben 
Copies' best books, Gittel and the Bell, a 
sort of Jewish version of the "boy who cried 
wolf," impish Gittel springs to life, created by 
Roberta Goldschlag Cooks and drawn by 
Susan Martz. I hope we meet Gittel again in 
another tale. 
*Remarks at the banquet of the 23rd annual 
Convention of the Association of Jewish Li-
braries, held in Kansas City, Missouri, June 
21, 1988. 
Cleveland College of Jewish Studies 
Cleveland, Ohio 
Author David Adler accepts the Sydney Taylor Book Award for the best 
Jewish children's illustrated book for 1987 from Merrily F. Hart, chairman of 
the awards. Adler received the honor for his book "The Number on My 
Grandfather's Arm" at a presentation held in Kansas City. 
The Union of American Hebrew Con-
gregations published not only the prize-
winning book, but several other fine books. 
Morris Schumsky is certainly a memorable 
fictional character. Last year, Steven 
Schnur wrote a humorous and meaningful 
Bar-Mitzvah story. This year he moved on to 
another life-cycle event, the wedding, and 
filled it with Jewish meaning and values, 
and also with humor, adventure, and de-
light. I hope to see more from Steven 
Schnur and illustrator Victor Lazzaro-and 
I hope the book, The Return of Morris 
Schumsky, is followed by yet another return 
of the "irrepressible" Morris Schumsky. 
We sometimes find books laden with Jew-
ish values and history, or books that are ap-
pealing to children because they are 
humorous, or adventurous. Rarely do we 
find books that combine values and appeal, 
and are well-written. These features 
characterize Sydney Taylor's books, and 
they are what we search for when we award 
this prize in her name. 
I have some wonderful news to share about 
old books as well as new books. Sydney 
Taylor's books about the All-Of-A-Kind 
Family have not been available as hard-
cover books for several years. Libraries es-
pecially miss the hardcover editions. (I 
know my library's copies are worn out.) 
Sydney Taylor's five All-Of-A-Kind Family 
books have just been reissued in a beautiful 
new hardcover edition and will be available 
shortly from Alpha. 
Merrily F. Hart is the Librarian at the 
Cleveland College of Jewish Studies and 
Library Consultant for the Jewish Commu-
nity Federation in Cleveland, Ohio. She 
also serves as Chairman of the AJL Sydney 
Taylor Book Award Committee for Chil-
dren's Literature. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 167 


English

AJL's Sidney Taylor Awards for Children's Literature

Schwartz, Lillian

Weissenberg, Frances

ADLER 
(Continued from p. 170) 
I thank my editor, Aron Hirt-Manheimer for 
his help. And we all owe special thanks to 
Sigfried Halbreich. We searched for him, 
the grandfather in the book, for more than 
six months. The president of one survivors' 
group even suggested that we use a "real" 
number and paint it on someone's arm. We 
wouldn't do that. We approached several 
survivors who declined. We enlisted the 
help of some very prominent members of 
the survivor community, including Elie 
Weisel. 
Then we found Sigfried Halbreich. He is a 
Polish-born Holocaust survivor, the first 
Polish Jew in a German concentration 
camp. He helped the U.S. War Crimes 
Branch prepare for the Nuremberg trials. 
He testified at the trials of Nazi criminals, 
including the trial of Adolf Eichmann. He is a 
good representative of all Holocaust sur-
vivors. He belongs in this book. 
The granddaughter, Ariella Eichenbaum, 
belongs in this book, too. She is the grand-
daughter of a survivor. 
"What makes a good Jewish 
book?" ... in a truly Jewish book, 
the Judaism is essential to the 
story. 
As an author and as an editor, I have been 
asked many times, "What makes a good 
Jewish book?" I have often responded that 
in a truly Jewish book, the Judaism is es-
sential to the story. If the Judaism is taken 
out of the book, the book falls apart. This 
was true with my first book of Jewish inter-
est, The House on The Roof and with the 
almost twenty Jewish books that have fol-
lowed. It's also true of the books I edit at the 
Jewish Publication Society. 
It is certainly true of The Number on My 
Grandfather's Arm. There is an effort today 
to deny that the Holocaust was a uniquely 
Jewish tragedy. It can't be done. I feel 
strongly that we must write and publish as 
many good books about the Holocaust as 
we can, and I feel that now is the time to do 
it. 
I hope to write and edit many more books of 
Jewish interest. One of the many reasons I 
plan to continue is because of your encour-
agement and your support. Thank you for 
telling me and my fellow authors that what 
we are doing is important. And thank you for 
this award. 
The Sidney Taylor Manuscript Award Competition 
Presentation by 
Lillian Schwartz 
The Sydney Taylor Manuscript Competition 
has a short history as compared to the AJL 
book awards, which began in 1968. 
The first manuscript award was presented 
in 1986 to Ricky Fleisher, a writer living in 
Maryland, for her story Spirit, a narrative 
bursting with the independence and 
cultural intensity of a young boy living on a 
kibbutz. 
The 1987 award was presented to Elaine 
Solowey (who did live on a kibbutz), for her 
tender and timely story of two Ethiopian 
children struggling to reach the haven they 
dream of-Eretz Yisrael; and the help they 
found in that land that did not fail them. 
The high quality and positive Jewish values 
of Sydney Taylor's work have served as 
guidelines for our Judges as they have for 
the Book Award Committee. These two 
manuscripts capture the highest ideals 
and values of Judaism in today's world. 
There has been a recurrent theme in the 
manuscripts submitted for this competi-
tion, the same theme Sydney Taylor de-
picted in her stories of the American-
Jewish immigrant family In fact, in 1986, 
the runner-up was a charming story with 
this setting. 
In the preface of his book How We Lived, 
Irving Howe notes that the "immigrant Jew-
ish experience, significant as it was for the 
history of the country and crucial for the 
lives of most American Jews, is in danger of 
becoming a myth, often a sentimentalized 
myth, and thereby unavailable to serious 
understanding. " Our judges are mindful of 
this pitfall. 
Therefore, it is significant that the award this 
year (1988) is given to a writer who tells the 
story of an immigrant family 
In The Streets Are Paved With Gold, Debbie 
is an only daughter surrounded by four 
brothers. She is involved in her two 
worlds-home and school. During the 
year-long span of the novel, she develops a 
link between the two, as the family copes 
with the realities of life in America of the 
early 20th century 
One of the judges commented after her ini-
tial reading: "This is a terrific book. It has 
real and engaging dialogue, good plot, au-
then tic details and values-plus men-
schlichkeit. " The author who has merited 
this generous praise is Frances Weissen-
berg. 
Ms. Weissenberg was raised in Brooklyn, 
graduated from Brooklyn College, and re-
ceived a Masters in Education and her MLS 
(Master of Library Science) at Queens Col-
lege. Her professional career was divided 
between the classroom and the library She 
and her husband, also an educator, cur-
rently reside in Tucson, Arizona. Of par-
ticular interest to this audience is the fact 
that Ms. Weissenberg's only previously 
published work was an article on bibli-
otherapy 
I am pleased to present the Association of 
Jewish Libraries Third Annual Sydney Tay-
lor Manuscript Award to Frances Weissen-
berg for her novel, The Streets Are Paved 
With Gold. 
Lillian Schwartz has served as chairman of 
the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Com-
mittee since its inception. 
17 4 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 
Remarks by Frances Weissenberg 
In the very best of my family's traditions, my 
grandmother told my mother, who told me, 
"Az men lebt, derlebt men." Translated 
loosely, this could mean, "If you live long 
enough, you get to play all the roles." 
And here I am tonight in the joyful role of a 
winner of the Sidney Taylor award for the 
best unpublished manuscript. Because it is 
a Sidney Taylor award, I have another 
role-the recipient of a small miracle. 
You see, when I conceived the idea of writ-
ing this book, I was working as an elemen-
tary school librarian. One of my favorite-
books, which I recommended to many stu-
dents, was Sydney Taylor's "All-of-a-Kind 
Family." I, myself, read and reread it and 
literally hugged it to my heart, hoping that 
some of the classic simplicity of her writing 
would rub off on me. Tonight I am receiving 
a Sydney Taylor award and isn't that a small 
miracle? 
The big miracle is that my manuscript, The 
Streets Are Paved With Gold, made it to this 
point. There was a lot of frustration, beau-
tiful rejections, rewriting and rewriting. The 
last rewrite was finished on Jan. 15, 1988 
and rushed to the post office to make the 
competition deadline. 
I've been asked why I wrote this book. 
That's a good question. Why does a man 
climb a mountain? My answer may be less 
complex. As one friend pointed out, per-
haps I was afraid to lose what I had lived 
through. I had this tremendous urge to re-
create for today's young readers, both Jew-
ish and non-Jewish, how it was growing up 
in Brooklyn, New York in the twenties. Be-
cause I wanted it to be relevant and alive, I 
fictionalized it. 
You know the twenties was an exciting de-
cade. Women had gotten the right to vote; 
prohibition, labor union activity, and, of 
course, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fires had 
occurred, just more than a decade before. I 
wanted to weave all that into my story. 
There was also grinding poverty, but then 
there was Mama's warm kitchen, and all the 
relatives. Remember the family was a 
strong, closely knit unit with many cousins, 
uncles and tantes. 
In my family, my mother came to this coun-
try by herself (at sixteen). She met my fa-
ther and married him. With her diamond 
engagement ring, she brought over three 
sisters and one brother. How she did it is 
also in the book. 
Since the protagonist, Debbie Gold, is 
almost fourteen, I was able to include the 
universal problems of her growing into 
womanhood. But there was more than that. 
Debbie so wants her family to be a real 
American family. But Mama still refuses to 
speak English. Because of that, I was able 
to include a glossary of Yiddish words in the 
book. 
At fourteen, Debbie had a choice. After 
graduating elementary school, she could 
go to work and attend continuation school. 
Her preference was to go to the regular high 
school. David, her brother was a math ge-
nius, and he also expected t6 go to college. 
And as Uncle Pincus was always saying, 
"Women get married and have babies. Men 
have to work all their lives." 
What about Papa? If he worked, they both 
could go to school. There was a problem-
Papa's coughing. He coughed and 
coughed, and Debbie could hear him 
coughing at night. In the twenties, there was 
a dread disease whose name was never 
mentioned aloud, only whispered. 
It is Mama who tells Debbie in the last chap-
ter that she has been looking for the streets 
paved with gold in America. When she 
came to America, she lived in the filthy 
streets of the East Side, in a crowded tene-
ment apartment. But she never stopped 
looking. 
Now, in the midst of the turmoil the family is 
facing, she suddenly realizes what "the 
streets are paved with gold" really means. 
And that message is relevant today. 
I will not say anymore, because I'm hoping 
that my dream will come true-my manu-
script will stand on its own and let the light of 
the world shine on it. And I will be in the role 
of an author of a published manuscript. 
I want to thank Mr. Taylor, the Association of 
Jewish Libraries, and all of you for this ho-
nor and for sharing with me this special mo-
ment in my life. You see, for me this is a rare 
moment of pure joy. 
I 
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I 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 175 


The Sidney Taylor Manuscript Award Competition

Weinberg, Bella Hass

IN THE BEGINNING ♦ ♦ ♦ 
As a professor of information science, one of 
the topics I discuss in my courses is the flow of 
information in scholarly disciplines, including 
the various forms of literature produced by sci-
entific societies. 
It has been a pleasure for me to observe the 
field of Judaica librarianship taking on more 
and more of the characteristics of a scholarly 
discipline. This issue of the journal provides a 
great deal of evidence that most of the major 
forms of scholarly publication-primary jour-
nals, conference proceedings, treatises, and 
handbooks-are represented in the literature 
of Judaica librarianship. 
In a special section of this issue, we present the 
formal papers from the Harvard Conference, 
"Judaica Librarianship: Facing the Future," held 
in May 1988. The Association of Jewish Librar-
ies has had conventions for over two decades, 
and for many years published proceedings as 
well. The proceedings of the Harvard Con-
ference differ from AJL's in that they contain 
invited formal papers, prepared for publica-
tion with full documentation by the authors 
(rather than summarized or transcribed by re-
corders). 
Structurally, the special section represents both 
the forms conference proceedings and state-
of:-the-art reports. Overviews of the major as-
pects of our profession are what I would have 
liked to see in the premiere issue of Judaica 
Librarianship. I am grateful to Dr. Charles Berlin 
for commissioning these papers and authoriz-
ing their publication in our journal. Con-
ferences are an informal means of scholarly 
communication, and their proceedings are 
generally considered "grey literature," not quite 
published nor widely available. Papers deliv-
ered at conferences are, however, often pub-
lished in primary journals, the main formal 
medium of scholarly communication, whic:h 
enhances their accessibility 
Judaica Librarianship is a refereed journal, but 
more of a professional than a scientific journal, 
since we publish few reports of original re-
search. The format of the journal adheres 
closely to standards in the field, except that our 
articles are not accompanied by abstracts. We 
Professional Reading for the 
Judaica Librarian 
Bella Hass Weinberg, Editor 
are fortunate that a number of indexing and 
abstracting operations, also known as sec-
-ondary services, create abstracts for many of 
the articles in Judaica Librarianship; these are, 
in many cases, searchable online. 
We have touched on the main forms of primary 
and secondary I iterature. Now to the tertiary 
forms, which compact, synthesize, and bibli-
ograph the secondary literature. 
Shimeon Brisman's Jewish Research Literature, 
volume two of which is reviewed at length by 
Zachary Baker in this issue, is an expository 
guide to the reference works in our field. Al-
though classified as a tertiary work, it involves 
much original (primary) research, and is actu-
ally a treatise. It may also serve as a textbook for 
courses in Judaica bibliography, and in fact 
grew out of such a course. While exemplifying 
several forms of publication, Brisman's series is 
organized according to the structure of the lit-
erature: bibliographies, encyclopedias, and 
dictionaries. 
An inventory guide to the literature, entitled 
Jewish Reference Sources, was produced by 
Charles Cutter and Micha Oppenheim, who 
continue to track Judaica reference works in a 
regular column in our journal, complemented 
by Libby Kahane's periodic lists of such works 
published in Israel, ~urope, and other con-
tinents. A manual on Judaica acquisitions, en-
titled Building a Judaica Librarx was compiled 
several years ago by Edith and Meir Lubetski. 
Edith Lubetski also frequently contributes lists 
of new acquisition sources to our journal. 
With reference and acquisitions covered, that 
leaves the major function of Judaica cataloging 
to be compacted in book form. Through the 
pub I ication of Hebraica Cataloging: A Guide to 
AWLC Romanization and Descriptive Catalog-
ing by the Library of Congress, this gap has 
been filled to some extent. In this issue, re-
views of the guide by Leah Adler and myself 
focus on its content and its format respectively 
With respect to the structure of the scientific 
literature, LC's guide is analogows to a hand-
book or laboratory manual, i.e., a manual of 
practice for a specialty Although not designed 
for sequential reading, by virtue of its source, 
,I 
Hebraica Cataloging may also serve as a text-
book for Judaica cataloging courses. 
In the DEWEINEAZA.Rsection of the journal, the 
reissue of the Elazar classification, a tool of ma-
jor importance to synagogue, school, and cen-
ter libraries, is reviewed by Marcia Posner. In 
terms of form of I iterature, the Elazar scheme is 
a numeric table. The classification schedules 
most often consulted by Judaica research li-
brarians are those of the Library of Congress, 
and in this issue, we feature a new column by 
Ricky Dreyfuss that tracks changes in this system 
as they affect Judaica librarians. 
Dr. Posner proposes that our journal serve as the 
clearinghouse for additions and changes to the 
Elazar scheme. In attending the Harvard Con-
ference, it gave me great pleasure to hear 
Judaica Librarianship referred to as "the journal 
of record for the field" by a number of speakers 
who proposed new features and columns. I 
hope some of the proposed ideas wi 11 even-
tually be implemented. The "Register of Juda-
ica Bibliographies in Progress" was suggested 
by Robert Singerman at an AJL Convention, in-
troduced by Barry Wal fish in our last issue, and 
attracted contributions for this issue. 
Having reviewed the formal characteristics of 
the literature of Judaica librarianship, it remains 
to be noted that in every scholarly discipline, 
most information is exchanged through 
informal communication. The published liter-
ature, while lagging significantly behind the in-
formal exchange, is the primary source of 
information for scholars or professionals who 
are not part of the invisible college, an i nforma I 
network of researchers or leaders in a field. It is 
the members of the invisible college who 
organize conferences and found a primary 
journal to disseminate their work. Conferences 
provide for immediate feedback on work in 
progress, while publication in a journal creates 
a permanent record of contributions to the ad-
vancement of a discipline or profession. 
I encourage all of you who have original re-
search, projects, or ideas related to Judaica 
librarianship to share them with your col-
leagues on the pages of the primary journal of 
our field. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 1-11 
r 
We gratefully acknowledge a 
generous contribution from the 
Jesselson Foundation for the 
publication of this issue. 
The continuing support of the 
I. Edward Kiev Library Foundation for 
the publication of Judaica 
Librarianship is gratefully 
acknowledged. 
112 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 


Professional Reading for the Judaica Librarian

Berlin, Charles

Judaica Librarianship: 
Facing the Future 
Proceedings of a conference held 
at Harvard University on May 2-3, 1988 ; 
on the occasion of the 
twenty-fifth anniversary of the 
Judaica Department of the Harvard College Library 
Edited by 
Charles Berlin 
Lee M. Friedman Bibliographer 
in Judaica in the 
Harvard College Library 
Harvard University Library 
Cambridge, Massachusetts 
1989 
This conference and publication of the conference proceedings 
were made possible by a grant from The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation. 
© Copyright by The President and Fellows of Harvard College. 
Reprinted with permission. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 113 
To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of 
the Harvard College Library's Judaica 
Department, the Library held on 2-3 May 
1988 an invitational conference titled 
"Judaica Librarianship: Facing the 
Future." Those attending represented vir-
tually every important Judaica research 
collection in the United States and Canada 
- the people who are significantly shap-
ing the future of library resources for Jew-
ish studies in North America. Also present 
were colleagues from Israel and England. 
Formal papers and informal interaction 
both were parts of this conference, as they 
are at all meetings, but both in this case 
were especially important, for this gather-
ing was the first of its kind. The record of 
the formal part we can present in these 
published proceedings. The informal can-
not be put into type, but we suspect that 
it has fueled a heightened awareness of 
common goals that in turn is likely to inspire 
greater cooperative activity among the 
community of Judaica research libraries 
and librarians. 
Preface 
Harvard announced at the conference a 
step toward that end. Retrospective con-
version to automated form of the Library's 
Hebrew and Yiddish card catalogs, under-
way over the last six years, has now been 
completed. Since this is the largest such 
collection to be computerized in its entirety, 
the converted records constitute a 
significant database. It is now a national 
resource, for tapes of the computerized 
files were presented to both the OCLC and 
RUN bibliographical utilities. Harvard's 
conversion project will thus make it easier 
for other Hebrew and Yiddish collections 
to automate, and it provides as well to the 
scholarly community a comprehensive 
on-line bibliographical reference tool. 
To all colleagues who attended and 
enriched the experience for everyone of us, 
we are grateful. We especially appreciate 
the efforts of those who participated for-
mally; their names are listed in the 
conference program which is reproduced 
in this volume. We are most grateful to Wil-
liam Lee Frost and The Lucius N. Littauer 
Contents 
Conference Program 
Foundation for a grant in support of the 
conference and publication of the confer-
ence proceedings; to Richard L. Menschel 
and the The Horace W. Goldsmith Foun-
dation for grants which made possible the 
computerization of the Harvard Library's 
Hebrew and Yiddish Catalogs; and to 
Stephen B. Kay for The Max and Irene 
Engel Levy Judaica Book Fund which 
makes possible The Max and Irene Engel 
Levy Memorial Lectures. 
Although the conference papers have been 
published by the Harvard Library, we thank 
the editors of Judaica Librarianship for their 
invitation to disseminate these papers in 
periodical form as well. 
Charles Berlin 
Lee M. Friedman Bibliographer 
in Judaica in the 
Harvard College Library 
Cambridge, Massachusetts 
May 19, 1988 
From Copy Cataloging to Derived Bibliographic Records: 
Cataloging and its Automation in American Judaica 
Research Libraries from the Sixties through 
the Eighties, by Bella Hass Weinberg 
From Strength to Strength: Judaica Collections Facing 
the Future, by Michael W. Grunberger 
Research Services, by Menahem Schmelzer 
Judaica Librarianship: The View from the Humanities, 
by Richard Ekman 
The 1988 Max and Irene Engel Levy Memorial Lecture 
Judaica Librarianship: The View from Israel, 
by Elhanan Adler 
114 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 
Harvard College Library 
Conference 
JUDAICA LIBRARIANSHIP: 
FACING THE FUTURE 
On the occasion of the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of the establishment of the 
Judaica Department of the Harvard College Library 
Monday - Tuesday 
May 2-3, 1988 
Harvard University 
Cambridge, Massachusetts 
Program 
The Library records its gratitude to: 
The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, for the grant which has made this conference possible; 
The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, for the grants which have made possible the computerization 
of the Harvard Library's Hebrew and Yiddish Catalogs; 
Stephen 8. Kay, '56, M.B.A. '58, for the Max and Irene Engel Levy Judaica Book Fund which 
makes possible The Max and Irene Engel Levy Memorial Lectures. 
* * * 
EXHIBITION 
Twenty-fifth anniversary of the Library's Judaica Department 
An exhibition celebrating twenty-five years of Library progress in Jewish Studies at Harvard. 
Third floor gallery 
Widener Library 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 115 
Monday, May 2, 1988 
1 :30 - 2:45 Registration Judaica Department, 
Widener Library, Room M 
3:00 - 4:30 Session I Forum Room, Lamont Library 
Technical Services 
Chair: 
Carol F. lshimoto (Harvard College Library) 
Presentation: 
Bella Hass Weinberg (St. John's Univer-
sity; VIVO Institute for Jewish Research) 
Discussants: 
Pearl Berger (Yeshiva University Library) 
Paul Maher (Library of Congress) 
Amnon Zipin (Ohio State University 
Libraries) -
Discussion 
5:00 - 8:00 Session II 17 Quincy St. 
8:00 -10:00 
Reception and Dinner 
Greetings: 
A. Michael Spence (Dean of the Faculty of 
Arts and Sciences, Harvard University) 
Sidney Verba (Director, Harvard University 
Library) 
Remarks: 
Charles Berlin (Harvard College Library) 
Comments on Judaic Scholarship and 
Judaica Collections: 
Oscar Handlin (Former Director, Harvard 
University Library) 
Session Ill Forum Room, Lamont Library 
Chair: 
Charles Berlin (Harvard College Library) 
Presentation: 
The 1988 Max and Irene Engel Levy Memorial 
Lecture 
Judaica Librarianship: The View from 
Israel 
Elhanan Adler (University of Haifa Library) 
Tuesday, May 3, 1988 
9:00 -10:30 Session IV Forum Room, Lamont Library 
Collection Development 
Chair: 
Assunta S. Pisani (Harvard College 
Library) 
Presentation: 
Michael W. Grunberger (Library of 
Congress) 
Discussants: 
Leonard S. Gold (New York Public Library) 
Linda P. Lerman (Yale University Library) 
116 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 
Philip E. Miller (Hebrew Union College 
Library) 
Discussion 
10:30 -12:00 Session V Forum Room, Lamont Library 
Research Services 
Chair: 
Kenneth E. Carpenter (Harvard University 
Library) 
Presentation: 
Menahem Schmelzer (Jewish Theological 
Seminary of America) 
Discussants: 
Bernard Dov Cooperman (Center for Jew-
ish Studies, Harvard University) 
Brad Sabin Hill (National Library of 
Canada) 
Robert Singerman (University of Florida 
Libraries) 
Discussion 
12:00 - 2:30 Session VI 
Luncheon 
Greetings: 
Faculty Club, 20 Quincy St. 
Yen-Tsai Feng (Larsen Librarian of 
Harvard College) 
Remarks: 
Dale P. Flecker (Harvard University 
Library) 
Charles Berlin (Harvard College Library) 
Presentation of the Harvard Library's Com-
puterized Hebrew and Yiddish Cataloging 
Data (Retrospective Conversion Project) to 
OCLC and RUN representatives 
Recognition of The Horace W. Goldsmith 
Foundation 
2:30 - 4:00 Session VII Forum Room, Lamont Library 
Judaica Librarianship: The View From the 
Humanities 
Chair: 
Lawrence Dowler (Harvard College Library) 
Presentation: 
Stanley N. Katz (President, American 
Council of Learned Societies) 
Discussant: 
Richard Ekman (National Endowment for 
the Humanities) 
Discussion 
4:00 - 5:00 Session VIII Forum Room, Lamont Library 
An Agenda for the Future: Discussion and 
Summation 
Elhanan Adler 
Assistant Director of the Library and 
Senior Lecturer in Librarianship 
University of Haifa 
Pearl Berger 
Benjamin Gottesman Librarian and 
Dean of Libraries 
Yeshiva University 
Charles Berlin 
Lee M. Friedman Bibliographer in 
Judaica 
Harvard College Library 
Kenneth E. Carpenter 
Assistant Director for Research 
Resources 
Harvard University Library 
Bernard Dov Cooperman 
Center for Jewish Studies and 
Department of Near Eastern Lan-
guages and Civilizations 
Harvard University 
Lawrence Dowler 
Associate Librarian for Public-Services 
Harvard College Library 
Richard Ekman 
Director 
Division of Research Programs 
National Endowment for the 
Humanities 
Yen-Tsai Feng 
Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard 
College 
Harvard College Library 
Dale P. Flecker 
Associate Director for Planning and 
Systems 
Harvard University Library 
Program Participants 
Leonard S. Gold 
Assistant Director for Jewish, Oriental 
and Slavonic Studies; 
Dorot Chief Librarian of the Jewish 
Division and Bibliographer in Jewish 
Studies 
New York Public Library 
Michael W. Grun berger 
Head, Hebraic Section 
African and Middle Eastern Division 
Library of Congress 
Oscar Handlin 
Carl M. Loeb University Professor 
Emeritus and former Director of the 
University Library 
Harvard University 
Brad Sabin Hill 
Curator of the Lowy Collection of 
Hebraica 
Rare Book Division 
National Library of Canada 
Carol F. lshimoto 
Associate Librarian for Cataloging and 
Processing 
Harvard College Library 
Stanley N. Katz 
Class of 1921 Bicentennial Professor 
of the History of American Law and 
Liberty 
Woodrow Wilson School 
Princeton University; 
President, American Council of 
Learned Societies 
Linda P. Lerman 
Judaica Bibliographer 
Yale University Library 
Paul Maher 
Senior Descriptive Cataloger 
Descriptive Cataloging Division 
Library of Congress 
Philip E. Miller 
Librarian, Klau Library 
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute 
of Religion 
Assunta S. Pisani 
Associate Librarian for Collection 
Development 
Harvard College Library 
Menahem Schmelzer 
Professor in Medieval Hebrew Litera-
ture and Jewish Bibliography 
Jewish Theological Seminary of 
America 
Robert Singerman 
Head, Price Library of Judaica 
University of Florida Libraries 
A. Michael Spence 
Professor of Economics and Dean of 
the Faculty of Arts and Sciences 
Harvard University 
Sidney Verba 
Carl H. Pforzheimer University Profes-
sor and Director of the University 
Library 
Harvard University 
Bella Hass Weinberg 
Associate Professor 
Division of Library and Information 
Science 
St. John's University; 
Consulting Librarian 
VIVO Institute for Jewish Research 
Amnon zrpin 
Judaica Bibliographer 
Ohio State University Libraries 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 117 


Judaica Librarianship: Facing the Future

Abramowicz, Dina

Jewish Folklore: An Annotated Bibliography, by Eli Yassif

Oppenheim, Micha F. 
"Recommended Judaica Reference Works 
1986-1987" 92-95 
1987-1988" 186-191 
Oren (Nadel), Yitskhak, ed. 
Kratka1a EvreTska1a Entsiklopedila 
(Reviewed by David E. Fishman) 146 
"Pathfinder on American Jewish Literature" 
96-97 
PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, 181-183 
Pitt, Nancy 
Sydney Taylor Children's Book Award 
Acceptance Speech, 49-50 
Posner, Marcia W. 
"Book Mensch: A Reading Motivation Game 
for Jewish Summer Camps" 105-106 
"Comparing a "Hot" with a "Cool" Medium" 
100 
Review of: Elazar, David H., Elazar, Daniel J. 
A Classification System for Libraries of 
•Judaica, 2nd ed. 176-177 
"Professional Reading for the Judaica 
Librarian" 111 
Proverbs, Sources for 206-208 
"Publishers of German Judaica" 60, 80 
"Quotations from the Bible Reading Club for a 
Congregational Religious School" 102-104 
Ratkin, Annette Levy see Levy Ratkin, Annette 
"Read a Book; Do a Mitzvah" 100-101 
"Reading Motivation Ideas for Synagogue 
Libraries" 99-107 
"Recent Jewish Publishing in Argentina: A 
Mixed Blessing" 62-67 
"Recommended Judaica Reference Works 
1986-1987" 92-95 
1987-1988" 186-191 
REFERENCE DEPARTMENT, 90-97, 
185-205 
"Register of Judaica Bibliographies in 
Progress" 97, 1 92 
Reiter, Harriet 
"Pathfinder on American Jewish Literature" 
96-97 
"Research Services" 128-130 
RESPONSA, 206-208 
"Retrospective Conversion of Hebraica at 
Brandeis University" 20-22 
"Retrospective Conversion of Hebraica 
Catalog Records: Options, Issues, and 
Visions" 17 -20 
Name 
Rice, Sherri L. 
"Quotations from the Bible Reading Club for 
a Congregational Religious School" 
102-104 
Rodriguez, Cesar 
"Latin American Book Dealers That Have 
Carried Judaica in Their Catalogs" 67 
Safran, Fayge 
Letter (CHILDREN'S LITERATURE) 4 
Schmelzer, Menahem 
"Research Services" 128-130 
Schwartz, Lillian N. 
"Read a Book; Do a Mitzvah" 100-101 
Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award 
Presentation 
1986, 51 
1987, 174 
SERIALLY SPEAKING, 98 
Simon, Ralph R. 
"Helping Books Compete with Technology in 
a Congregational Setting" 99-100 
Sinai Temple Blumenthal Library 
Central Cataloging Service, 68-75 
Additions and Variations to the Elazar 
Classification System, 74, 75 
Singerman, Robert 
Harold Mason Judaica Reference Book 
Award Presentation 
1986, 90 
1987, 185 
Solowey, Elaine M. 
Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award 
Acceptance Letters, 51 , 52 
Soyer, Daniel 
"Jewish Archives in New York: An Overview" 
35-36 
Stanford University, Taube-Baron Collection, 
76-84 
Sydney Taylor 
Book Awards for Children's Literature 
1986, 46-50 
Selected List of Contenders, 46-47 
1987, 167-174 
Selected List of Contenders, 168 
Manuscript Award 
1986, 51-52 
1987, 174-175 
SYNAGOGUE LIBRARIES, 99-107 
Taube-Baron Collection of Stanford University 
Bibliographer's View, 76-80 
Cataloger's View, 81-84 
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 
"The Use of Israeli Machine-Readable 
Cataloging by American Libraries: A 
Proposal" 23-26 
Walfish, Barry 
Letter (REFERENCE DEPARTMENT) 5 
"Recent Jewish Publishing in Argentina: A 
Mixed Blessing" 62-67 
"Register of Judaica Bibliographies in 
Progress" 97, 192 
Walker-Cook, Chris 
Letter (CATALOG DEPARTMENT) 139 
Weinberg, Bella Hass 
"Career Prospects of Judaica Librarians" 
3-4 
"From Copy Cataloging to Derived 
Bibliographic Records: Cataloging and its 
Automation in American Judaica 
Research Libraries from the Sixties 
through the Eighties" 118-122 
"A Graduate-Level Course on Hebraica and 
Judaica Cataloging" 85-88 
"The Hebraica Cataloging Manual of the 
Library of Congress: Its Structure and 
Adequacy as a Reference Work" 151-153 
Letter (RARE BOOKS) 4-5 
"Professional Reading for the Judaica 
Librarian" 111 
"Retrospective Conversion of Hebraica 
Catalog Records: Options, Issues, and 
Visions" 17-20 
Weissenberg, Frances 
Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award 
Acceptance Speech, 175 
Wellisch, Hans H. 
"Classification of the Judean Desert 
Documents (Dead Sea Scrolls)" 163-165, 
177 ' 
Word Processing, Hebrew 
Review of Available Products, 6-12 
MINCE, 13 
Yassif, Eli 
Jewish Folklore: An Annotated Bibliography 
(Reviewed by Dina Abramowicz) 144, 146 
Yeshiva University Library 
"MINCE: Hebrew-English Word Processor: 
Some Useful Hints" 13 
Yiddish proverbs, sources on, 206-208 
Leah Adler is Head Librarian of the Mendel 
Gottesman Library of Hebraica-Judaica, 
Yeshiva University. 
Page 
AB Bookman's Weekly ......................... 180 
Feldheim Publishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 
Garland Publishing .............................. 145 
Jason Aronson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 
Jerusalem Books Ltd. . ...... : .................. 150 
Mandele The Book Seller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 
Meckler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 
Morrison & Kline ............................... 209 
Pangloss Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 
Robinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 
K. G. Saur .................................... 147 
Scarecrow Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 
Shofar ........................................ 175 
H. W. Wilson Co ............................... 184 
212 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 


Index of Advertisers

Herbsman, Yael

Scope 
The "Index to Florida Jewish History in the 
American lsraelite"facilitates access to in-
formation about Jews in Florida published 
in the American Israelite from 1854 (the 
year the American Israelite began publica-
tion) to 1900. This influential weekly was 
founded in Cincinnati by Isaac Mayer Wise 
as the Israelite, but its name was changed 
in 187 4 to the American Israelite. In addi-
tion to historical and theological articles, 
this source contained news from all over the 
Jewish world. Information on Jewish com-
munities in the United States is particularly 
abundant. 
The "Index" includes brief abstracts of all 
references to Florida Jewry in the American 
Israelite through the year 1900. Articles, 
advertisements, betrothal announce-
ments, lists of contributions and donations, 
correspondence from Florida, and mis-
cellaneous reports that refer in any way to 
Florida or Floridians are covered. The only 
comparable work is Robert Singerman's 
(1976) index to Western States Jewish his-
tory in the American Israelite for the same 
period (1854-1900~ 
The "Index to Florida Jewish History in the 
American Israelite" was designed as a tool 
for research in the "prehistory" of Florida 
Jewry. Florida's Jewish population did not 
exceed 772 in 1880 (UAHC, 1880), but in-
creased to 3,000 by the year 1900 (The 
American Jewish Year Book, 1900). 
The Indexing Process 
Every relevant item found in the American 
Israelite, including advertisements, was ab-
stracted, and all the names mentioned in 
the newspaper were keyed in special fields 
to be sorted later for the creation of the in-
dexes. Each abstract was given a title, gen-
erally derived from the names of the cities 
and towns mentioned in the article (see Fig-
ure 1 ). Because many of the abstracted 
items did not have a distinctive title, assign-
ing the geographic name as the title was 
presumed to be of help to the user of the 
"Index" trying to find articles dealing with a 
given place. 
Index to Florida Jewish History 
in the American Israelite 
Yael Herbsman 
University of Florida 
Gainesville, FL 
When browsing through the various in-
dexes, the title appears next to every name, 
along with publication date, page, and col-
umn. Generally, there is a relationship be-
-tween the title and the entries in the 
personal names index; in many cases, the 
title (i.e., place) indicates that the person 
was from that place. This is not always true, 
however, because people from one place 
are occasionally mentioned in relation to 
another place. For example, an article that 
mentions a person from Tallahassee visit-
ing Jacksonville, will be assigned the title 
"Jacksonville" if the item deals mainly with 
the latter city. A relation between [geo-
graphic] title and proper name is found 
more frequently in the indexes of con-
gregations and organizations/societies. 
Since the scope of the "Index" is limited to 
Florida Jewry, only Florida place names 
were indexed, while other places men-
tioned in the text were omitted. All of the 
personal names mentioned in correspon-
dence and reports of Florida communities 
were indexed, including people from out of 
state, on the assumption they were associ-
ated in some way to the Jewish commu-
nities in Florida. Most of the societies and 
organizations indexed are local, though a 
few are national organizations to which 
Florida Jews made contributions, e.g., the 
Union of American Hebrew Congregations. 
Title: Jacksonville 
Date: 1882/02/10 
Page: p. 257:1 
Method 
All the data gathered from the American Is-
raelite was abstracted and processed using 
the computer programs PFS:File and 
PFS:Report, which generated a list of the 
abstracts, arranged by date, and four in-
dexes: Personal Names, Places, Congre-
gations, and Societies/Organizations. 
PFS:File is a computer program that allows 
the creation of customized forms. For this 
project, the indexing form was divided into 
eight fields: title, date, page: column, ab-
stract, names, places, congregations, and 
organizations/societies (see Figure 2). The 
first four fields were created to facilitate lo-
cation of an item in the American Israelite. 
These fields are printed in the bibliographic 
portion of the "Index," i.e., the se.ction con-
taining the abstracts. The other four fields 
(personal names, places, congregations, 
and organizations/societies) were created 
for the purpose of indexing the abstracts. A 
sample of a complete record is given in Fig-
ure 3. 
Each personal name, place, congregation 
or organization in Florida mentioned in the 
text of the American Israelite was keyed in 
the appropriate field. To sort these fields 
and to create the separate indexes, the 
PFS:Report program was used. This ver-
satile program sorts and prints tabular re-
ports from the information stored in a 
Abstract: A congregation was established. Appeals for donations to build a syn-
agogue. M.A. Dzialynski-Pres., S. Benjamin-Vice Pres., Geo. W. Markens-
Secretary-Ahavath Chesed, Congregation of the State of Florida. Committee on 
Donations: J. D. Bucky-Jacksonville, B. M. Baer-Jacksonville, M. M. Bellisario-
Jacksonville, L. Furchgott-Jacksonville, S. Ritzewoller-Jacksonville, S. Ben-
jamin-Ocala, T. H. Benjamin-Micanopy, J. R. Cohen- Tallahassee, M. Endle-
Gainesville, W. Fox-Leesburg, B. L. Lillienthal-Palatka, W. F. Sylvester-
Ellaville. 
Figure 1. Sample abstract from the "Index to Florida Jewish History 
in the American Israelite." 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 203 
PFS:File, according to the user's specifica-
tions. The program also gives the option of 
printing an alphabetical report from key-
words in a defined field. This option was 
used in each of the above-mentioned four 
fields, thereby creating the four name inde-
xes. 
The use of the keyword specification has its 
constraints, however. A keyword, as read by 
the program, is considered from its first let-
ter to the first space after it, which means 
that personal names have to be written 
without a space between the last, first, and 
middle names (see Figure 4). In the three 
other indexes (places, congregations, and 
organizations/societies), compound names 
were written with a dash between the vari-
ous elements of a name to get around this 
problem. 
The database is stored on a hard-disk. 
Though the programs used do not have the 
capability to perform Boolean searches on 
combinations of index terms, there are 
ways to narrow a search while online. 
The "Index" will be published in paper form 
and will contain five sections: abstracts, ar-
ranged by date; personal names index; 
places index; congregations index; and or-
ganizations/societies index. 
Summary 
The "Index to Florida Jewish History in the 
American Israelite" is a tool designed for 
reseachers of Florida Jewry, local histo-
rians, and genealogists. It provides access 
to a hitherto hidden source of information. 
The database contains over 550 abstracts. 
The four indexes enable the user to search 
on specific proper names-of persons, 
places, congregations, and societies. 
The "Index" facilitates retrieval of informa-
tion about Jewish l_ife in Florida during the 
second half of the nineteenth century, a 
time when the Jewish press in Florida was 
non-existent. From the references to Flor-
ida in the American Israelite, one can read-
ily find information on the localities that had 
a Jewish population, the growth of Jewish 
communities, the establishment of commu-
nal institutions, and the involvement of Flor-
ida Jews not only in building Jewish 
communities, but also in political life on the 
state and municipal levels. 
[Editor's note: It is hoped that this article 
may inspire other Jewish newspaper in-
dexing projects. There is a vast amount 
of valuable information buried in news-
papers that could be made accessible 
to researchers through computer-
assisted indexing. We invite reports of 
Judaica indexing projects.] 
Title: 
Date: 
Abstract: 
Names: 
Places: 
Cong reg at ion: 
Society: 
FLORIDA 
F1-Help 
Retrieve spec 
Esc-Main Menu 
Page: 
Page 1 
F1 a-Continue 
Figure 2. The form designed for the creation of the database. 
Title: Pensacola 
Date: 1900/12/13 Page: p. 3:3 
Abstract: At Temple Beth El, Rev. Dr. I. E. Wagenheim gave two sermons which 
attracted much attention. One was given at the Elks' Memorial. 
Names: Wagenheim,I.E.,Rev. 
Places: Pensacola 
Congregation: Beth-El 
Society: Elks-Memorial 
FLORIDA 
F1-Help 
Form 645 
Esc-Main Menu 
Page 1 
F1 a-Continue 
Figure 3. A completed form from the database (a record). 
204 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 
References 
American Israelite (Cincinnati, 1854- ). 
(Available on microfilm. Can be borrowed or 
purchased from the American Jewish Pe-
riodical Center, Cincinnati.) 
The American Jewish Year Book, 5661 
[1900-1901]. Philadelphia, 1900, p. 623. 
Herbsman, Yael. Index to Florida Jewish History 
in the American Israelite (to be published in the 
Summer of 1989). 
Singerman, Robert. Index to Western States 
Jewish history in the American Israelite 
(Cincinnati), 1854-1900. Cincinnati, 1976. Mi-
crofiche. 
[UAHC] The Union of American Hebrew Con-
gregations. Statistics of the Jews of the United 
States. Philadelphia, 1880, p. 55. 
Yael Herbsman is a Cataloger at the Univer-
sity of Florida Libraries, with responsibility 
for Hebraica and Judaica. She is also the 
compiler of the" Index to Florida Jewish His-
tory in the American Israelite." Formerly on 
the staff of Haifa University Library, Ms. 
Herbsman served as co-editor of the "Index 
to Hebrew Periodicals (1979)," and was in 
charge of the Erets Yisrael database. 
Personal Names 
Names Title Date Page 
Ortleib, Mrs. Jacksonville 1888/09/21 p. 8:34 
1888/01/13 p. 9:2 
Osky,J. Jacksonville 1893/06/15 p. 5:7 
Otlinger,Mrs. Jacksonville 1900/05/10 p. 2:5 
Ottensoser, L. Ocala 1887/05/20 p. 6:2 
1887/05/20 p. 7:1 
1892/09/08 p. 6:3 
Ottensoser,L.,Mrs. Ocala 1892/09/08 p. 6:3 
Ottinger,Lena Quincy 1900/10/25 p. 7:4 
Ottinger, Rosalieleon Quincy 1900/10/25 p. 7:4 
Pallok,M. Jacksonville 1882/12/15 p. 201 :3-5 
Parker,Jacob Florida ' 1885/03/20 p. 6:4 
Parkhill,C.B., Hon. Jacksonville 1896/12/10 p. 6:4 
Peck,A.,Mrs. Pensacola 1890/08/28 p. 3:4 
Peck,Minnie Pensacola 1890/08/28 p. 3:4 
Perry,E.A. Florida 1885/01/02 p. 2:1-2 
Peyser, Charles Ocala 1892/09/08 p. 6:3 
Philipson,Dr. Ocala 1898/06/09 p, 6:2 
Pincus,A.,Mrs. Jacksonville 1889/03/14 p. 2:1-2 
1893/08/24 p. 3:4 
Figure 4. A page from the Personal Names Index. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 4 No. 2 Spring 1988-Winter 1989 205 


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