Association of Jewish Libraries Publishing

Association of Jewish Libraries

Vol. 2:1-2 Table of Contents

Pearlstein, Peggy K.

English

The Hebraic Section of the Library of Congress: Collections, Catalogs and Services

Lubetski, Edith

THE CHOSEN BOOK 
Recently Published Acquisition Tools 
Edith Lubetski 
This column lists new and recently pub-
lished materials that may be useful as ac-
quisition tools. If you are aware of anything 
that falls into this category, kindly send a 
brief notice to: 
Prof. Edith Lubetski 
Hedi Steinberg Library 
Stern College for Women 
245 Lexington Avenue 
New York, NY 10016 
Antiquarian Catalogs 
Richard Adamiak 
1545 East 60th Street 
Chicago, II 60637 
Catalog 75: Theology and History of 
Religions. 
Catalog 84: Modern Judaica with Special 
Reference to the Holocaust. 
Mostly out-of-print scholarly books, primarily 
in English, with a sprinkling of German and 
French, arranged alphabetically by author. 
Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller 
2221 Benedict Canyon Drive 
Beverly Hill, CA 90210 
Judaica: A compendium of rare and out-of-
print books. Vol. I. (Fall, 1985). 
Many booksellers have prepared catalogs 
of their offerings, but rarely is one treated 
to such a detailed and professional presen-
tation as the above. Divided into 27 subject 
areas, the author covers all of Judaica as 
he defines it: "Works written by, for and 
about the Jewish people, their culture, his-
tory and religion:' In addition, he has in-
cluded "works concerning people, events, 
beliefs, and attitudes which have had a pro-
found impact on Jewish history:' 
There are many features that make this 
catalog unique, notably: (a) Indexes provide 
multiple access points to the material by 
subject, author, editor and language. Fur-
thermore, within each subject category, 
there are "see alsd' references. (b) Most en-
tries contain bibliographic references to 
book reviews. 
Stern College 
New York, NY 
This work should prove not only an excel-
lent acquisition tool, but will have reference 
value as well. We look forward to future 
volumes. 
Needham Book Finders 
P.O. Box 491040 
Los Angeles, CA 90049 
Catalog 51: Judaica. 
This catalog features an extensive alpha-
betical list (by author) of out-of-print popu-
lar and scholarly Judaica in English, pub-
lished primarily in the U.S. and England. 
Needham provides a search service for 
hardcover, out-of-print books. There is no 
charge for a search unless the book is 
found. 
Bibliography 
Posner, Marcia W. 
Juvenile Judaica: The Jewish Values 
Book Finder. N.Y.: Association of Jewish 
Libraries, 1985. 
A comprehensive, annotated bibliography 
of juvenile Judaica, which lists primarily in-
print popular fiction and non-fiction pub-
lished since 1980, and represents the vari-
eties of Jewish belief. 
The books are arranged alphabetically by 
author. Each entry provides full bibliographi-
cal information, price, age-levels, subject(s) 
and summary. There are subject, title and 
genre indexes. Annual updates will be pu~-
lished, as well as a cumulated edition ev-
ery five years. 
This a wonderful reference tool, which also 
serves as an excellent acquisition aid, 
providing the librarian with an opportunity 
for filling in gaps and balancing a collection. 
Bookdealers' Catalogs 
Haolam Judaica 
167 Quinlan Avenue 
Staten Island, NY 10314 
A mail-order bookdealer catering to libraries 
and synagogues. Publishes a listing of new 
books every few months-primarily popu-
lar adult and juvenile titles. 
Ideal Book Store 
1125 Amsterdam Avenue 
New York, NY 10025 
"Judaica" (First Section). Catalog #651. 
An alphabetical listing of general and schol-
arly Judaica. Primarily English, with a few 
titles in foreign languages. A second sec-
tion is due to be published in March 1986. 
Book Club 
Books 
c/o The Hebrew Book Club 
78A Shankin Street 
Tel Aviv 65223 
Israel 
U.S. Office: 
The Hebrew Book Club 
P.O. Box 7640 
New York, NY 10016 
The Hebrew Book Club publishes a quar-
terly entitled Sefarim: The Good Book Guide. 
Vol. 2, Autumn/Winter 1985-. (Original title: 
Books: The Good Book Guide. Vol. 1, 
Spring/Summer 1985.) A very attractive 
publication in magazine format, the first is-
sue of 32 pages describes over 100 books. 
The titles are primarily in Hebrew and are 
arranged by subject. A small selection of 
English books is also presented. In the sec-
ond issue, the number of English books has 
increased. The large majority of books falls 
into the category of Judaica, although some 
general subjects treated in Hebrew are in-
cluded. 
In order to become a member, you pay an 
annual fee of $18, which provides you with 
a subscription to the magazine and dis-
counts on all listed books. One can order 
from the catalog without being a member, 
but will then not be eligible for special dis-
count prices. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 39 
Media 
Jewish Educational Media 
784 Eastern Parkway 
Brooklyn, NY 11213 
Tapes of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's ad-
dresses. 
Nefesh Ami 
107 B. Broadway 
P.O. Box 651 
Hicksville, NY 11801 
Fall-Winter 1985 Catalog. 12 p. 
This catalog lists records, books, cassettes, 
video-cassettes, and games. It features a 
large collection of all types of Jewish rri u-
sic from the U.S. and Israel, including a long 
section on children's music. 
Tara Publications 
29 Derby Avenue 
Cedarhurst, NY 11516 
A Harvest of Jewish Music. 46 p. 
This firm has added computer software to 
its extensive catalog of books, records and 
cassettes in the field of Jewish music. The 
dealer also provides search service. 
Publishers' Catalogs 
Association of Orthodox Jewish 
Scientists 
1373 Coney Island Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11230 
Publications of Interest to Orthodox Jewish 
Scientists. 
Contains AOJS publications, as well as 
others concerned with the relationship of 
Orthodox Judaism to science and medicine. 
Includes a list of cassette tapes on this 
theme. 
C.I.S. Communications, Inc. 
674 Eighth Street 
Lakewood, NJ 08701 
Publisher of books with an Orthodox orien-
tation. The catalog includes works on reli-
gious topics, as well as fiction for young 
adults. 
Holocaust Publications 
216 West 18th Street 
New York, NY 10011 
A non-profit organization, the goal of which 
is to publish works of all types on the Holo-
caust. 
Institute Bne lssakher 
Tseelim 1/21 
Jerusalem, Israel 
American Contact: 
Rabbi David Sebag 
1474 59th Street 
Brooklyn, NY 11219 
The Sephardic Library. Part I (April 1985); 
Part II (May 1985). 
Catalogs of books written by Sephardic 
Rabbis. Some are contemporary, and 
others date from earlier periods. This is a 
non-profit organization that intends to pub-
lish books dealing with the Sephardic Jew-
ish heritage. 
Reviews 
Seforim Newsletter. 
Vol. I No. 1, March, 1985-. Monthly. 
c/o Eichler's 
1429 Coney Island Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11230 
Edited and written mostly by Yaakov Elman, 
formerly of Rabinowitz Book Store, this 
newsletter is devoted to short reviews of new 
books "within the limits imposed by fidelity 
to a viable, traditional Judaism:' As an or-
gan of a bookstore, one would expect that 
the reviews would generally be positive, yet 
some notices are critical. The annotations 
vary in length and depth. Some entries fea-
ture short descriptions; others are mini-
review essays. In the first three issues, the 
number of reviews grew from 8 to 32, and 
there are plans to double the size of an is-
sue and to add special features and 
columns. Included are English and Hebrew 
titles, as well as juvenilia. All reviews are in 
English. 
This is a specialized type of selection tool, 
but no doubt every Judaica library will find 
a number of books of interest. The timeli-
ness of this newsletter-if it keeps to its pub-
lication schedule-is certainly useful. We 
welcome this addition to our collection of 
Judaica acquisition tools and look forward 
to its growth and expansion. 
Edith Lubetski is Assistant Professor of Li-
brary Administration and Head Librarian, 
Hedi Steinberg Library, Stern College for 
Women, Yeshiva University. She is the au-
thor with her husband, Prof. Meir Lubetski, 
of Building a Judaica Library Collection, 
which was published by Libraries Unlimited 
in 1983. Professor Lubetski is also the Vice-
President/President-Elect of the Association 
of Jewish Libraries. 
40 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 
Weinberg (continued from p. 25) 
References 
Berman, Sanford "The ~ewish Question' in Sub-
ject Cataloging:' In his: The Joy of Cataloging: 
Essays, Letters, Reviews and Other Explosions. 
Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1981, pp. 113-123. 
Kurland, Mildred; Weine, Mae. Subject Headings 
for a Judaica Library. 4th ed. [New York]: As-
sociation of Jewish Libraries, 1982. 
[LC]." 'City Flip' Discontinued in Subject Catalog-
ing Practice:' Cataloging Service Bulletin, No. 
30 (Fall 1985), pp. 29-32. 
[LCSH] Library of Congress Subject Headings. 9th 
ed. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 
1980. 
Nichol, W. Thomas "Theological Subject Head-
ings Reconsidered:· Library Resources & Tech-
nical Services, Vol. 29, No. 2 (April/June 1985), 
pp. 180-188. 
Stuhlman, Daniel D. Library of Congress Subject 
Headings for Judaica. Chicago, IL: BYLS Press, 
1982. 
Weinberg, Bella Hass. Implications of Changes 
in Library of Congress Cataloging Policy for 
Judaica/Hebraica Librarians. [Miami, FL: As-
sociation of Jewish Libraries, 1978. 
Weinberg, Bella Hass "The Cataloging of Jew-
ish Liturgy by the Library of Congress: a Cri-
tique:' Judaica Librarianship, Vol. 1, No. 2 
(Spring 1984), pp. 70-74. 
Dr. Bella Hass Weinberg is an Associate 
Professor in the Division of Library and In-
formation Science of St. John's University 
and Consulting Librarian at YIVO Institute for 
Jewish Research. She also chairs the In-
dexer Education Committee of the American 
Society of Indexers. 
This paper is based on a presentation made 
at a Cataloging Workshop of the New York 
Metropolitan Area Chapter of the Associa-
tion of Jewish Libraries, held at the Jewish 
Theological Seminary on Dec. 12, 1984. 
Many of the problems cited in the paper are 
based on questions raised by participants 
in the series of Cataloging Workshops. 


Recently Published Acquisition Tools

Hass Weinberg, Bella

JEWS-DASH: Library of Congress Subject Headings for Judaica: a Methodology for Analysis

Cutter, Charles

LEARNING 
Bibliographic Instruction in Judaic Studies 
Charles Cutter 
Introduction 
The Judaic studies program at Brandeis is 
an ambitious one, with courses offered in 
a variety of fields. Undergraduates and 
graduate students are encouraged to enroll 
in courses outside their field of specialty. 
The faculty of the Near Eastern and Judaic 
Studies Department felt that a necessary 
part of educating students was the devel-
opment of their research skills. They under-
stood that students must be taught how to 
obtain needed information without always 
having to turn to librarians for assistance. 
After acquiring such skills, later, as profes-
sionals, they would be better able to guide 
their own students in research projects. I 
was therefore asked to build and teach an 
introductory course that would familiarize 
students with bibliographic and reference 
·sources and help them acquire basic re-
search skills in Judaica. 
Course Design 
The course is divided into three compo-
nents: 
1. introduction and orientation; 
2. general bibliographic and reference 
sources; and 
3. subject bibliographic and reference 
sources. 
1. The introduction/orientation sessions are 
used to explain the nature and purpose of 
the course and to provide orientation to the 
library and its resources. As part of the 
orientation, the student visits both the 
general reference department and the 
Judaica reading room to become familiar 
with the materials housed in these collec-
tions. They are also instructed in the use 
of the card catalog, the Hebraica title cata-
log, the periodical catalog, and the library's 
online user information system (LOUIS). In 
addition, a member of the general reference 
staff discusses computerized literature 
searching and demonstrates the library's re-
trieval service. Brandeis currently sub-
scribes to the BAS and DIALOG online in-
formation services, which provide access 
to over 175 databases. 
2. Once the students are generally famil-
iar with the library and its resources, they 
are introduced to specific Judaic biblio-
Brandeis University 
Waltham, MA 
graphic and reference sources. These in-
lude: comprehensive general Judaica bib-
liographies; indexes to both current and 
retrospective Judaica periodicals; indexes 
to Judaica festschriften; general Judaica 
encyclopedias; and catalogs/bibliographies 
of books, manuscripts, and library collec-
tions. 
3. It is expected that by the end of the first 
half of the semester, students will have be-
come adept at using the card catalog, on-
line catalog, and general Judaica reference 
tools, as well as some general reference 
materials. The remaining sessions are 
devoted to discussions pertaining to spe-
cific subject-related bibliographic and ref-
erence sources. The students enrolled in 
the course determine which subjects are to 
be emphasized to ensure that their research 
skills are strengthened in their area of spe-
cialty. Among the topics covered are: Bibli-
cal studies; Rabbinic literature and Jewish 
law; Jewish thought (including mysticism 
and Hasidism); Jewish history; Hebrew lan-
guage and literature; Yiddish language and 
literature; and Jewish archival institutions 
and their publications. 
The goal in the latter part of the semester 
is to familiarize the students with bibliogra-
phies, encyclopedias, concordances, bi-
ographical and bio-bibliographical diction-
aries, as well as periodicals that are 
germane to the discipline being discussed. 
A text entitled Introduction to Jewish 
Bibliography 1 was compiled for this course. 
It includes the required readings for each 
topic, a list of the major works to be dis-
cussed in the lecture, and weekly assign-
ments. 
Methodology 
Each session consists of demonstration, 
evaluation, and discussion of bibliographic 
and reference tools related to a predeter-
mined topic, e.g., periodical indexes or Bib-
lical studies resources. The most significant 
characteristics of each work are pointed out 
in the course of the lecture: purpose, 
authoritativeness, scope, arrangement, in-
dexes, and other special features. The stu-
dents have ample opportunity to examine 
the materials and discuss their use. For ex-
ample, in discussing resources for Biblical 
studies, students consult and note the differ-
ences between Bib/ia Hebraica edited by R. 
Kittel2 and the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarten-
sia edited by K. Elliger and W. Rudolph. 3 
They also observe the structural differences 
between, and contrast the purposes of the 
following: 
Mandelkern, Solomon. Konkordantsyah 
La-TaNaKH. 4 
Even-Shoshan, Abraham. Konkordant-
syah hadashah le-Torah, Nevi'im u-
Khetuvim. 5 
Likewise, during our discussion of Rabbinic 
literature resources, students are given an 
opportunity to use a wide array of diction-
aries, concordances, encyclopedias, and 
bibliographies, including such works as: 
Hyman, Aaron. Torah -ha:-ketuvah 
veha-mesurah. 6 
Kasowski, Chaim Joshua. Otsar /eshon 
ha-Talmud. 7 
Entsiklopedyah Talmudit. 8 
Rakover, Nahum. Otsar ha-mishpat. 9 
Kasher, Menahem M. Sare ha-elet.10 
When we discuss resources pertaining to 
Hebrew linguistics and literature, the stu-
dents learn when and how to use diction-
aries for both etymological studies or tex-
tual analysis. 
The most important sources examined are: 
Ben-Yehudah, Eliezer. Milon ha-/ashon 
ha-1vrit.11 
Even-Shoshan, Abraham. ha-Milon he-
hadash.12 
In the discussion of historical resources, the 
student is familiarized with a variety of sur-
veys, anthologies containing historical 
documents or texts, and regional (local} his-
torical bibliographies, including such works 
as: 
Ben-Sasson, H. H. A history of the Jew-
ish people.13 
The Jew in the modern world; a 
documentary history. Edited by Paul R. 
Mendes Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz.14 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 65 
Gross, Heinrich. Gallia Judaica.15 
Klausner, Israel. To/dot ha-tsiyonut.16 
Gurock, Jeffrey. American Jewish his-
tory; a bibliographic guide.17 
In view of the fact that archival materials are 
a primary source for the study of Jewish his-
tory in the various countries in which Jews 
have resided, works which describe archival 
collections and identify their location are 
also discussed. 
Prior to the lecture, students are assigned 
readings that either evaluate specific types 
of reference tools, or present an overview 
of the literature in the field to be discussed. 
Thus, for example, prior to discussing indi-
ces, the students read the relevant chapter 
in A History and Guide to Judaic Bibliogra-
phy by Shimeon BrismanJ8 They read "Rab-
binic Sources" by John Townsend and 
'!Judaism in New Testament Times" by 
Richard Bavier before our discussion of 
Rabbinic literature resources. These arti-
cles are in the compilation of bibliographic 
essays entitled The Study of Judaism.19 
Following each session, students are as-
signed reference questions designed to give 
them an opportunity to put into practice 
what they have learned. They find that this 
exercise affords them an opportunity to 
familiarize themselves with tools that they 
will later use in research projects. 
The following are some typical assign-
ments. 
I. a. Compile a selective bibliography of 
books and articles pertaining to 
Saadiah Gaon and his works by con-
sulting the following sources: 
Shunami, Shlomo. Bibliography of 
Jewish Bibliographies and Sup-
plement. 2° 
Berlin, Charles. Index to festschriften 
in Jewish Studies. 21 
Marcus, Jacob Rader and Bilgray, 
Albert. An index to Jewish fest-
schriften. 22 
Index of articles on Jewish studies. 23 
b. Note which items are in the library's 
collection. 
The purpose of this exercise is three-fold: 
to give students an opportunity to (1) use . 
some of the basic bibliographies and in-
dexes for the preparation of a bibliography; 
(2) review the methodology of compiling a 
bibliography in accordance with the format 
outlined in standard style manuals; and (3) 
become more adept at using card and on-
line catalogs. 
II. Moses ben Solomon of Salerno's work 
Perush 'al Moreh Nevukhim is in manu-
script. 
a. Note the holding library/libraries of 
the Mss. 
b. Cite publications, if any, relating to 
this work. 
Ill. a. Describe the contents of the follow-
ing work: Abraham Bar Hiyya ha-
Nasi. Hegyon ha-Nefesh. 
b. Note the differences between the 
editions. 
c. List the editions owned by the follow-
ing libraries: Brandeis, Hebrew 
Un ion College- Klau Library, New 
York Public Library-Jewish Divi-
sion, the Library of Congress, and 
Harvard. 
I 
In view of the fact that many graduate stu-
dents enrolled in the course may be work-
ing with manuscripts and will need to com-
pare text editions, they must learn to use 
such tools as: 
Freimann, Aaron. Union catalog of He-
brew manuscripts and their location. 24 
Benjacob, Isaac. Otsar ha-sefarim. 25 
Slatkine, Mendel. Otsar ha-sefarim. He-
lek sheni. 26 
Students are also required to become fa-
miliar with the holdings of the major reposi-
tories of Judaica and to learn to use their 
respective book catalogs. Questions 11 and 
Ill are examples of exercises designed to 
develop this facility. 
Finally, the formal classroom instruction de-
• scribed above is supplemented, as the need 
arises, by informal meetings with individual 
students to discuss their assignments and 
to provide guidance for their term projects. 
The term project, too, is aimed at strength-
ening student research skills. Students are 
required to compile a detailed, annotated 
bibliography pertaining to a topic in their 
field of study. An essay describing the 
search strategy and the materials used to 
compile the bibliography must accompany 
the paper. "The American Jewish commu-
nity's response to events in Europe, 1939-
1944" and "The Jews in Vilna in the inter-
war period" are two examples of bibliogra-
phies compiled by students who have com-
pleted this course. 
final Exam 
The final exam is designed to measure the 
growth of research skills. Students are re-
quired to answer a variety of reference ques-
tions and to indic~te the source(s) used to 
find the answer. Examples of exam ques-
tions, along with comments on the skills 
they are designed to test, follow: 
I. "Hashem ro'i lo ehesar" 
a. What is the biblical source of this 
verse? 
66 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 
b. Where and in what context does 
Rashi cite this verse? 
Students are expected to know that they 
must use a concordance to find the biblical 
source of this verse. They should also know 
that Aaron Hyman's Torah ha-ketuvah veha-
mesurah will be an invaluable source in 
helping locate biblical references in rabbinic 
and other types of post-biblical iterature. 
II. List the works of lbn Gabirol that were 
published from manuscript in the follow-
ing periodicals: 
a. Otsar Nehmad. 
b. Kerem Hemed. 
Students should know that information re-
garding Hebrew newspapers and periodi-
cals is to be found in the index volume of 
the Encyclopaedia Judaica. 21 Once they 
have established the place and date of pub-
lication, they should know to consult Bern-
hard Wachstein's Die hebriiische Publizistik 
in Wien,28 which provides indexing forcer-
tain Hebrew periodicals published in Vienna 
between 1820 and 1889. 
Ill. A dissertation pertaining to the religious 
and political thought of Paul de Lagarde 
was published in 1979. Cite. 
Students should be aware that Kiryat Sefer29 
lists not only monographs, but also disser-
tations of Judaic interest. 
Conclusion 
This article has described the Judaica bib-
liography course as currently taught at Bran-
deis University. Students who have enrolled 
in it have been Judaica concentrators, both 
undergraduate and graduate. All have felt 
that the course was an extremely practical 
and beneficial experience, because it gave 
them an opportunity to become more famil-
iar with the kinds of materials that will en-
able them to conduct research more effec-
tively. The Brandeis experience clearly 
demonstrates the importance of an in-
troductory course in Judaica bibliography 
to both undergraduate and graduate pro-
grams in Jewish Studies. 
References 
1Cutter, Charles. Introduction to Jewish bibliog-
raphy. Waltham, Ma.: Brandeis University. 
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, 
1978. 
28ible. Q.T. Hebrew. 1954. . .. Biblia Hebraica. 
Edited by Rudolf Kittel. Stuttgart: Wurtember-
gische Bibelanstalt, 1954. 
3Bible. Q.T. Hebrew. 1977. ... Biblia Hebraica 
Stuttgartensia. Edited by Karl Elinger and Wil-
helm Rudolph. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelstiftung, 
1977. 
4Mandelkern, Solomon. Konkordantsyah la-Ta-
NaKH. Jerusalem: Schocken, 1977. 
5Even-Shoshan, Abraham. Konkordantsyah 
hadashah le-Torah, Nevi'im u-Khetuvim. Jerusa-
lem: Kiryat Sefer, 1977-1980. 
6Hyman, Aaron. Torah ha-ketuvah veha-mesurah. 
Tel-Aviv: Dvir, 1979. 
7Kasowski, Chaim Joshua. Otsar leshon ha-
Talmud. Jerusalem: Ministry of Education and 
Culture; The Jewish Theological Seminary of 
America, 1954-
8Entsiklopedyah Ta/mudit. Jerusalem: Talmudic 
Encyclopedia Publishers, 1951-
9Rakover, Nahum. Otsar ha-mishpat. Jerusalem: 
Harry Fischel Institute, 1975. 
1°Kasher, Menahem M. Sare ha-elef. Jerusalem: 
Bet Torah Shelemah, 1978 or 9. 
11Ben-Yehudah, Eliezer. A complete dictionary of 
ancient and modern Hebrew. New York: Thomas 
Yoseloff, 1960. 
12Even-Shoshan, Abraham. ha-Milon he-hadash. 
Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer, 1966-1970. 
13Ben-Sasson, Haim Hillel. A history of the Jew-
ish people. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University 
Press, 1975. 
14The Jew in the modern world. Edited by Paul 
R. Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz. New 
York: Oxford University Press, 1980. 
15Gross, Heinrich. Gallia Judaica. Amsterdam: 
Philo Press, 1969. 
16Klausner, Israel. To/dot ha-tsiyonut. Jerusalem: 
Zalman Shazar Center, 1975. 
17Gurock, Jeffrey. American Jewish history: a bib-
liographic guide. New York: Anti-Defamation 
League, 1983. 
18Brisman, Shimeon. A history and guide to Ju-
daic bibliography. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union Col-
lege Press, 1977. 
19The Study of Judaism; bibliographical essays. 
New York: Anti-Defamation League, 1972. 
20Shunami, Shlomo. Bibliography of Jewish bib-
liographies. 2d ed. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 
1965.-Supplement, 1975. 
21Berlin, Charles. Index to festschriften in Jewish 
studies. New York: Ktav, 1971. 
22Marcus, Jacob Rader and Bilgray, Albert. An 
index to Jewish festschriften. New York: Kraus, 
1970. 
23/ndex of articles on Jewish studies. Jerusalem: 
Magnes Press, 1969-
24 Freimann, Aaron. Union catalog of Hebrew 
manuscripts and their location. New York: Amer-
ican Academy for Jewish Research, 1964-1973. 
25Benjacob, Isaac. Otsar ha-sefarim. New York: 
Hotsa'at Yerushalayim, 1943 or 4. 
26Slatkine, Menahem Mendel. Otsar ha-sefarim. 
Helek sheni. Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer, 1965. 
27Encyclopaedia Judaica. New York: Macmillan, 
1971-1972. 
28Wachstein, Bernhard. Die hebraische Publizistik 
in Wien. Wien: Selbstverlag der Historischen 
Kommission, 1930. 
29 Kirjath Sepher (Kiryat Sefer): bibliographic quar-
terly ... Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1924-
Hebrew Bibliographic Data 
,1"31', 1'l'~l"T"'l1j'31j, .17)'.)J'll ,11Yj?J)J1)N)'.) .4 
.t"J'l/37 ,)j?)'ll :O'J'll11' 
11\!l"Th 11'~:l"T''nj,3'j, .0171::lN ,)'ll1'll-pN .5 
r,,,p :O'J'll1,, .a,:iir,:n o,i,,c,:il ,n·nn!:I 
.1980-1977 ,,£>ti 
.1'1"'1l'7t.l111 11!:ll1'!111 'l'll11 .')t17N ,)Y.'P17 .6 
.1979 ,i''.J.1 :'.J.':J.N-711 .N)n.m Ni11i1)'.) 
ll\!I, ,~,i,,c .}J'll117' onn ,,ptinNtiNp .7 
m:i,nm 11:inn 1,'ll)'.) ,O'J'll11' .1,r.,,r,11 
-1"''ll11 ,17j?'i)'.)N:J. 0'):J.17 'lli1)'.)17 11':J.) 
11N~)17 :O'J'll)i' .11'"Tlt.l!:11' 1'l'"T!H,j,'~3N .8 
-'.J."''ll11 ,11'1))'.)Jr, 17'1£l)Jj?'~)N 
htl!lt.l ;\:l!:1\!lt.l1'1 "'1~1N .01n) ,i:J.1jJi .9 
)):>)'.) :O'J'll11' Yi!:1)111 \:l!l\!lt.J, '!l"'l)l'!:1!1'!:I 
.17"J'll11 ,J'll'£1 'ii1 
r,,:,, ,O'J'lln' .")!:INr1 ,,\!I .)'.) onm ,,'ll:> .10 
.D"'.7'lln ,i1)'.)J'll mm 
3'P"l!:l)l11 ll\!l!:111 ,,,r., .it}J'JN ,171)17'-P .11 
/))JtiP ti)'.))\:> :j?iP-P) .1'1\!l"'tnm fll\!1'1'1 
. 1960 
:O'J'll1i' .\!l"Th11 ll!:lt.l1'! .017i:J.N ,1'll1'll-'PN .12 
.J"'lln-1":>'lln ,,£>ti r,,,p 
,O'J'll1i' .im,,~11 r,n,,n .'.7N,'ll' ,,Jr1'.7p .16 
, )"J'l/11 / it'll ))'.) Jt t:>i)'.) 
;1'ih11!:!t.l11 h11!:!t.l .17)'.)J'l/ ,')'.)))'lJ .20 
.111'!:IN"'l\!l'-!:l!I J'll'!l"'l)P!:l!:1'!:I ,\!I 11'£i'Ul'!:l!:1'!:I 
.11":>'lln ,ti)lN)'.) ,O'J'lln' .n:in,m ':,, '117)'.) 
.17"J'll11 .1'!:lt:111' -
,O'J'll1i' .r,nrim 'V"Tt.l!l a,,r.,i,,cr., r,r.,,\!li .23 
-D":>'l}r, ,ti))N)'.) 
-P) .0'"'1!:lt71'1 .,~lN .j?'t"N pn~P ,:J.j?)P-p .25 
.1943/44 ,O'J'll)i' nN~m :j?iN' 
;,,n 0,,gt,11 ,~,i,,c .'.7,m onm ,1'PDN'.7t .26 
.17":>'lln ,)Pti ti1£11 :0'J'll11' .'l\!I 
Dr. Charles Cutter is Head, Judaic Depart-
ment, Brandeis University Libraries. 
This paper was originally presented at the 
Convention of the Association of Jewish 
Libraries held in Atlanta in June, 1984 .
THE NEW REFERENCE BOOKS FROM 
The International Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization 
Moshe Davis, General Editor 
Selected Syllabi 
in University 
Teaching Series: 
in three volumes 
• to develop innovative courses 
• to keep up with the 
literature 
• to learn from the teaching 
approaches of experienced 
scholars 
CONTEMPORARY JEWRY 
edited by Gideon Shimoni • ISBN 0-910129-28-2 • $14.50 
JEWISH POLITICAL STUDIES 
edited by Daniel J. Elazar and Tuipora Stein• ISBN 0-910129-29-0 • $14.50 
WORLD REGISTER OF UNIVERSITY 
STUDIES IN JEWISH CIVIl,IZATION 
edited by Mervin F. Verbit • ISBN 0-910129-30-4 • $14.50 
JEWS AND THE FOUNDING 
OF THE REPUBLIC 
edited by Jonathan D. Sama, Benny Kraut. 
Samuel K. Joseph 
This volume is designed to show the place of 
the American Jewish Experience in American 
and World History. It contains primary 
sources. maps, photos. illustrations, bibliographies 
and a guide to available source material. 
ISHN 0-910129-44-4 • $14.50 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 67 


Bibliographic Instruction in Judaic Studies

Klein, Shmuel

Erenyi, Zvi

A German Judaica Blanket Order: Description and Analysis

Letters from Our Readers

Mlotek, Chana

The Resource Book of Jewish Music: A Bibliographical and Topical Guide to the Book and 
Journal Literature and Program Materials, by Irene Heskes. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood 
Press, 1985. 302 p. 
Reviewed by: 
Chana Mlotek 
VIVO Institute for Jewish Research 
New York, NY 
The new resource book compiled by Irene 
Heskes is a noteworthy contribution to the 
field of Jewish music research-one that 
musicologists and lay people will find use-
ful, if not indispensable, in their work. It is 
a computerized corpus of 1,220 selected en-
tries in English, assembled from archives 
and libraries in different parts of the 
world-from the earliest literature to the 
present, and from general as well as Jew-
ish sources. Although it professes to be only 
a guide to the literature in the field, and not 
a comprehensive bibliography, Heskes' 
selection-particularly of recent publica-
tions-is an important addition to past bib-
liographies of Jewish music, notably Alfred 
Sendrey's monumental bibliography pub-
lished in 1951, comprising over 10,000 en-
tries, and Albert Weisser's resource book 
published in 1969-an extension of Joseph 
Yasser's bibliography of 1955. Recent 
studies and collections, previously un-
recorded, are now documented in an up-
to-date compendium by Irene Heskes, 
who-with years of experience in supply-
ing music resources to scholars and laymen 
as consultant of the National Jewish Music 
Council-has compiled a bibliographic 
guide with a clear and uncomplicated ar-
rangement, enabling the user to avail him-
self of the extant literature with facility and 
ease. 
The work is limited to literature in English, 
and although individual music compositions 
in other languages are not within its scope, 
collections are included, usually with roman-
ized texts- a significant advantage over 
Weisser's work. The entries are classified 
according to type of publication: reference 
works, books and monographs, articles, 
periodicals, instruction manuals, music col-
lections, and dance materials. Each entry 
is annotated, and includes basic informa-
tion about the author, editor or compiler, 
translator, title of the work, and other publi-
cation data. In addition, annotations are 
provided regarding the subject area, range 
of content, and manner of treatment, along 
with comments about the author and, in 
some cases, recommendations. A topical 
index provides the user with access to the 
wide range of subject matter that these pub-
lications encompass. Likewise, an index of 
authors gathers together all their studies. 
The index of authors provides insight into 
the large corpus of research published by 
such eminent scholars as Israel Adler, 
Hanoch Avenary, Bathja Bayer, Edith 
Gerson-Kiwi, and Moshe Gorali in Israel, as 
well as by Johanna Spector, Eric Werner, 
Ruth Rubin, and Irene Heskes, among 
others in this country. One of the more strik-
ing elements in Heskes' guide is the prepon-
derance of entries post-dating Sendrey's 
and Weisser's bibliographies. This testifies 
to the ongoing interest and viability of re-
search in the field. 
The reference materials cited are of great 
importance. Entries on Jewish music that 
appear in encyclopedias and music diction-
aries, covering the vast scope of music from 
antiquity to the present, are carefully noted, 
and can serve as an introduction or orien-
tation for the interested student and scholar. 
Equally important are the resources listed 
from the catalogs (both published and un-
published) of libraries that house significant 
music collections, such as the New York 
Public Library, Boston Public Library, He-
brew Union College-Jewish Institute of Re-
ligion, Gratz College, and Harvard Univer-
sity Library. 
The section on bibliographies is especially 
rich and wide-ranging. Included are sepa-
rate bibliographies of Jewish vocal music, 
Yiddish folksong, Sephardic music, Asiatic 
music, Sabbath eve services, studies on 
music of the Middle Ages, instrumental mu-
sic, and Israeli resources. An index to Ger-
shon Ephros' Cantorial Anthology is also 
among the important reference tools listed. 
The bibliographies of individual musicians 
and musicologists feature the names of AZ. 
ldelsohn, Bronislaw Huberman, Ernest 
Bloch, Eric Werner, Salomone Rossi, 
Leonard Bernstein, Paul Ben-Haim, Lazar 
1 O Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 
Weiner, Joseph Vasser, Salomon Sulzer, Ar-
nold Schoenberg, and Eduard Birnbaum. 
A few emendations are noted in the 
reviewer's field of research (Yiddish music): 
No. 400. Leo Wiener's History of Yiddish 
Literature in the Nineteenth Century was 
reprinted, with a new introduction by Elias 
Schulman (N.Y., 1972). 
No. 849. Moshe Beregovsky's second vol-
ume of songs was never published. The 
page proofs of the texts of over 200 songs 
of the second volume that was scheduled 
for 1938 publication were found in the VIVO 
Archives. Some of the songs from the sec-
ond volume appear in Beregovsky's posthu-
mous publication of 1962. The date of his 
death, 1941, is incorrect. It should be 1961 
as noted in No. 911. 
No. 853. Y. L. Cahan's first two-volume col-
lection of Yiddish folksongs was published 
in N.Y. in 1912, and reprinted in 1920. An off-
print of his second collection, which origi-
nally appeared in the Pinkes (published by 
the American Section of VIVO in N .Y., 1927-
8), was issued in 1930. Both collections were 
incorporated into the 1957 VIVO publication. 
In 1938, the VIVO of Vilna published a 
posthumous volume, under Cahan's editor-
ship, of Yiddish folklore-containing 203 
song texts and 103 melodies. 
No. 873. Elkhonen Henle Kirchhain, author 
of Simkhas hanefesh, 1727, was Jewish. 
No. 903. N. Prylucki's two collections of folk-
songs do not contain music. 
No. 997. Two volumes of Elyokum Zunser's 
works, edited by Mordkhe Schaechter, were 
published by VIVO in 1964. 
In a work of this scope and size, it is inevita-
ble that certain omissions will be evident. 
Such was the case with Sendrey's bibliog-
raphy, as noted by Eric Mandell in 1963, and 
as Weisser expected would be with his own. 
Given this reviewer's specialization, omis-
sions in the section on Yiddish collections 
are noticeable. Although many are cited, 
several important collections are absent. 
These are listed in the Addenda to this re-
view. Numerous children's and workers' 
song collections are also missing, as well 
as song collections in periodicals. Perhaps 
in a revised edition, some of these items will 
be incorporated. 
With regard to the facilities that house Jew-
ish music, we hope that Heskes will become 
familiar with the collections of music 
manuscripts and publications that are found 
in VIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Some 
collections of Yiddish music have already 
been cataloged, namely: The song collec-
tion of the Folklore Committee of VIVO in 
Vilna, gathered prior to World War II, the 
folksong collection gathered by A. Litvin in 
the U.S. during the twenties, the Abraham 
M. Bernstein pre-World War II collection, 
cataloged by Albert Weisser, the vast Sho-
lem Perlmutter theater music collection, and 
the Leo Low, Lazar Weiner, and Samuel 
Bugatch collections. 
It is to be hoped that Irene Heskes' invalu-
able research guide will stimulate further 
endeavor in the field of Jewish music. 
Addenda to the Bibliography 
Eliasberg, Alexander. Ostjudische Volkslieder. 
Munich, 1918. 
Hasomir's Sangbog. Copenhagen, 1937. 
Kipnis, Menakhem. 60 Folkslider. Warsaw, 
[1918]; 80 Folkslider. Warsaw, [1925]; and 
Populerste folks/ider fun Z. Zeligfeld un M. Kip-
nises repertuar. Warsaw, [n.d.]. 
Lehman, Shmuel. Arbet un frayheyt. Warsaw, 
1921; Ganovim-lider mit melodyes. Warsaw, 1928. 
Noy, Dov and Meir. Yiddish Folksongs from 
Galicia. Jerusalem, 1971 (Folklore Research Cen-
ter Studies, vol. II). 
Saculet (Sekulets), Emil. Yidishe folkslider. 
Bucharest, 1959; reprinted with Hebrew transla-
tion of the song texts, Tel Aviv, 1970. 
Shachnovsky, Nokhem. Lider gezungen funem 
folk. Paris, 1958. 
Chana Mlotek is the Music Archivist of YIVO 
Institute for Jewish Research and the com-
piler of several anthologies of Yiddish folk-
songs. 
As we went to press, we 
learned that The Resource 
Book of Jewish Music won the 
AJL Judaica Reference Book 
Award for 1985. 
11 Authentic and moving . .. 
among the best memoirs 
of the Holocaust 
V. II ~~~~~ 
J. ears• -Lucjan Dobroszycki, 
editor of -The Chro11iclc of the Lodz Ghctt(i,-
1941-1944 • 
Not since Tlzc Dinn/ of A1111C Fm11k has 
there been an account of the war 
years that has touched the hearts of 
such a wide range of readers. This is ; 
the true story of an 11-year-old girl 
whose family found refuge with 
Polish Christians and survived. 
Dry Ten rs is the adventure story of a 
child who learned to "pass" in the 
forbidding Christian world ... a 
quietly moving coming-of-age 
story ... and a unique celebration of 
the best human qualities that surface under the worst conditions. 
"A story of human resilience ... remarkable." 
-Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler 
"A beautiful, sensitively written book." -Nehemiah Persoff 
"A sensitive memoir of the Holocaust years." -Tlzc New York Times 
256 pp. $6.95 paper 
At better bookstores or order directly from: 
Oxford Paperbacks 
Oxford University Press, 200.MadisonAve., NY, NY 10016 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 11 


The Resource Book of Jewish Music

Walfish, Barry

IDC Jewish Studies on Microfiche: a Critique 
Barry Walfish 
In 1975, the Inter Documentation Company 
(IDC) of Zug, Switzerland, embarked on an 
ambitious and highly significant project in 
the field of Judaica publishing. The Jewish 
Studies Microfiche Project, in the terms of 
its publisher, "is designed to encourage the 
distribution and easy use of rare and impor­
tant books, periodicals and other materials 
in the broad field of Jewish studies that 
would otherwise remain largely inaccessi­
ble'' (IDC, 1983, p. I). In 1983, the company 
published its first comprehensive Judaica 
catalog entitled Jewish Studies: Research 
Collections on Microform. The 107-page 
catalog lists titles in history, philosophy and 
religion, languages and literature, bibliog­
raphy, as well as a large number of periodi­
cals and newspapers. 
The material made available through this 
project, selected in consultation with an in­
ternational team of scholarly advisors, dates 
mainly from the nineteenth and early twen­
tieth centuries and is virtually unobtainable 
on the antiquarian market. The cost of the 
odd item that does appear or that is 
reprinted in book form is usually prohibitive. 
IDC is thus providing an invaluable service 
to the scholarly community. Newly-estab­
lished Jewish studies collections can now 
obtain an important group of older materials 
and well-established libraries can replace 
worn or disintegrating material at a reason­
able cost. 
While the IDC Jewish Studies project is well 
conceived and fills an important need, its 
implementation is both technically and bib­
liographically wanting. In the course of 
cataloging the more than two hundred IDC 
titles acquired by the University of Toronto 
Library, we have encountered numerous 
cases of incorrect or misleading biblio­
graphic information in the catalog or on the 
microfiche headers, as well as many exam­
ples of items which were incomplete with­
out explanation. The examples that follow 
are presented in order to assist Judaica 
catalogers in processing this material, as 
well as to call to the attention of IDC and 
other Judaica publishers the importance of 
providing accurate information to the com­
munity of Judaica scholars. 
University of Toronto 
Omissions 
(Page numbers refer to the IDC Catalog of 
'1983.) 
P. 103 [Carlebach, S.] Festschrift. 
Pages 102-251 of the Hebrew section are 
missing. (In reply to an inquiry, IDC indi­
cated that it had no immediate plans to cor­
rect this omission.) 
P. 70 Tafsir S. Tehillim wa-Sharhuhu 
bi'/ Arabiyyah. 
This is a composite of various editions of 
sections of Saadia Gaon's Judea-Arabic 
translation of the Psalms. In the original 
form, the pamphlets contained the Judeo­
Arabic text, a German translation and criti­
cal notes by the editor. The Judea-Arabic 
text is lacking in the IDC edition, despite the 
title in the catalog entry. 
P. 35 Malkhi, R. M. Likkutim /a-Perush 
al ha-Torah. Jerusalem, 1923. 
Pt. 1. 
Part 2 of this work was published in 1922, 
and should have been included. 
P. 62 Auerbach, B. H. Ha-Zofeh al 
Darkhei ha-Mishnah. Frankfurt a. M., 
1861. 
Pages 3-14 are lacking. It should have been 
possible to locate a complete copy. 
P. 36 Hanani, Y. Tenu'at ha-Haskalah 
be-Erel-Y isra'el ba-Me'ah ha-19. 
Jerusalem, 1949. 
The title page-the only source of biblio­
graphic data for this thesis-is missing. It 
was ascertained from Kressel that the au­
thor is Y isra'el l:lanani, born in 1906, and 
not the better-known author Yosef l:lanani. 
P. 42 Di Sotsialistische literatur at 
/dish. Minsk, 1935. v.2. 
P. 43 Golitsyn, N. N. lstoriia . .. vol. 1. 
P. 44 Materialy dlia istorii . .. .. .  vol. 1. 
No indication is given in the catalog as to 
whether other volumes were ever pub­
lished. 
12 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 
When a publisher undertakes to microfilm 
material and offer it for sale, every attempt 
should be made to locate the best and most 
complete copies of the originals before film­
ing. In the case of periodicals and news­
papers, full runs should be assembled 
whenever feasible. Despite IDC's claim that 
they searched thoroughly for missing issues 
in an attempt to complete periodical runs, 
I am left with the impression that in most 
cases they merely filmed the holdings of the 
Jewish National and University Library in 
Jerusalem and did not look further. 
Errors 
P. 63 Elijah, Gaon of Vilna. Haggahot 
Yerushalmi. Koenigsberg, 1858. 
This item is incorrectly identified and is ac­
tually: 
Masekhet Ka/ah 'im perush ha-Ga'on. 
R. E. mi-Yilna [et al.], 1892/3. 
Other items are incorrectly attributed. For 
example, 
P. 70 Saadiah Gaon's translation of 
Hosea and Joel (ed. R. Schroeter). 
(Marx's Archiv, v.1 [1867].) 
-Saadiah Gaon's translation of Joel 
and Amos (ed. D. Klein). Budapest, 
1897. 
-Saadiah Gaon's translation of 
Zephariah {sic] Haggai and Zechariah 
(ed. A. Heisz). Berlin, 1902. 
For none of these is there any evidence for 
attribution to Saadiah Gaon (Malter, 1921, 
p. 318). In fact, the last item has the title: 
Eine anonyme arabische Uebersetzung und 
Erklarung der Propheten Zephanja, Haggai 
and Zecharja. 
The title of the second item, which is in Hun­
garian, reads as follows: 
Joel es Amosz: pr6fetak konyveinek 
Arab forditasa I nevtelen szerzotol. . . . 
This translates as: ':Joel and Amos: an Ara­
bic translation of the books of the Prophets 
by an anonymous author:' In his introduc-
1 
tion, the editor stresses the anonymity of 
the work and that it is definitely not Saadia's. 
A number of items are listed in a manner 
that makes their identification extremely dif­
ficult: 
P. 75 Ezobi, J. Ka'arat ha-Kesef 
[last edn. by M. Steinschneider 
in his Musar Haskel. Berlin, 
1860). 
The description implies that the work was 
edited by Moritz Steinschneider and that it 
was included in Steinschneider's work 
called Musar haskel. The title page of this 
item in fact reads as follows: 
Musar haskel I ha-meyuhas le-R. Hai 
Ga'on. Ve-Shir ha-ke'arah I le-R. Yeho-· 
sef ha-Ezovi. -Nidpesu me-hadash . . . 
·im he'arot ha-mesader Mosheh Shtain-
shn�de� 
"Musar haskel" is an anonymous medieval 
ethical poem attributed to either Hai ben 
Sherira or Hai ben David Gaon (See EJ, 
"Musar Haskel"). What we have here, then, 
is Steinschneider's edition of this work as 
well as of Ezobi's Shir ha-ke'arah (not 
Ka'arat ha-kesef). 
Another example of a peculiar entry is: 
P. 76 Polak, G. I. and S. D. Luzzatto. 
Hotam Tokhnit. Amsterdam 1865. 
(Contains, inter alia, Abraham 
Bedersi's Ha-Herev ha-Mithappekhet 
with detailed commentary). 
The catalog also provides a facsimile of the 
title page; therefore, the inaccuracies in the 
catalog entry are all the more glaring. The 
author of l:lotam tokhnit is Abraham Bedersi. 
In addition, there are various poems and let­
ters by Bedersi (including ha-l:lerev ha­
mit'hapekhet edited by S. D. Luzzatto), a 
poem to Bedersi by Jacob ben Abraham 
Hagorni (edited by M. Steinschneider), and 
critical notes in German by Joseph Zvi 
Hirsch Dunner. The principal editor of the 
entire work is Gabriel Isaac Polak. 
The item should therefore have been en­
tered under Abraham Bedersi, with G. I. Po­
lak mentioned as editor. Luzzattds part in 
the whole work is relatively minor and does 
not deserve mention (cf. the Library of Con­
gress entry for the work in NUC pre-1956 
Imprints, v. 42, p. 645)., 
The German section of this work repro­
duced on fiches 7-8, has a very complicated 
pagination, which is further complicated by 
the needless repetition of several pages of 
various sections. 
P. 68 Teshuvot Geonim ve-Rishonim 
(Ed. A. Hildesheimer). 
(Yeshurun, v.12). Also corrigenda 
by C, L. Ehrenreich (Ozar ha-Hayyim. 
v.3, Deva 1927). Published 
separately with Ehrenreich's 
corrections. Deva, 1927. 
The only piece of information that is correct 
in this entry is the title. The item consists 
of two microfiches. On the first is the title 
as indicated, headed by the name of the edi­
tor, 'Azriel Hildeshaimer. The fiche contains 
two excerpts from an unnamed journal, one 
numbered [64)-69, the other [77)-82. The 
name of the journal is not mentioned, nor 
is the year of publication. To give as a source 
the periodical title Yeshurun without any 
other information is not very helpful, since 
tnere exist several periodicals by that name 
(all called Jeschurun, since they were pub­
lished in German). Furthermore, to give the 
name of the editor as A. Hildesheimer is 
misleading, since this brings to mind the 
nineteenth-century rabbi Israel (Azriel) Hil­
desheimer who died in 1899. A check of He­
brew Union College's Klau Library Catalog, 
revealed the following analytical entry: 
Hildesheimer, Esriel Erich. "Die 
Komposition der Sammlungen von 
Responsen der Gaonen:' In: Jildische 
Studien Josef Wohlgemuth . . . gewidmet. 
Frankfurt a. M., J. Kauffmann, 1928. 
In this article, the author makes reference 
to his "Teshuvot ge'onim ye-rishonim" which 
he had published in Jeschurun 13 (not 12, 
as in IDC's catalog) [Berlin, 1926). The first 
part of the puzzle was thus solved. 
The second microfiche, rather than contain­
ing the corrigenda as promised in the cata­
log entry, consists of a responsum on the 
giving of the half-shekel in modern times 
written by r.L Y. E. (presumably t;iayyim Ye­
hudah Ehrenreich) and published in the 
journal Otsar ha-bayim. A check of the Klau 
Library and New York Public Library cata­
logs revealed that Ehrenreich did publish 
corrections to a geonic work, but not to the 
one mentioned in the IDC catalog. Arthur 
Marmorstein had published a number of ge­
onic responsa in a series of articles in Ot­
sar ha-bayim, a journal edited by Ehren­
reich. These were collected and reprinted 
with additions and corrections by Ehren­
reich in 1928. (See bibliography of Marmor­
stein's works in Marmorstein, 1950, p. xxxix). 
It seems that the second half of IDC's entry 
refers to this work, and should perhaps have 
been appended to the entry for Teshuvot Ge­
onim which appears at the top of p. 68 of 
the catalog. In any case, this may explain 
the entry in IDC's catalog, but it does not 
account for the responsum reproduced on 
a separate fiche in conjunction with Hil­
desheimer's work. 
Erich Hildesheimer). (Jeschurun [Berlin] 
13 [1926)). 
Also a responsum by C. L. Ehrenreich 
reprinted from Ozar ha-Hayyim 3 (1927). 
Another misleading entry is the following: 
P. 69 Midrash al Aseret ha-Dibberto. 
[sic] (Attributed to Saadiah Geon 
[sic]. (Ed. W. Eisenstaedter). 
Vienna, 1868. 
With Hebrew and German translation . .  
The catalog neglects to mention that the text 
is in Judea-Arabic. Examination of this item 
fails to yield any trace of the Hebrew title 
given in the entry; however, one does find 
ti.ties in Judeo-Arabic-Tafsir al-'ashar al­
Ka/imat-and in German-Saadja's Arab­
ischer Midrasch zu den Zehn Geboten. This 
item is erroneously attributed to Saadia 
Gaon (Malter, 1921, pp. 406-408), and 
should not be confused with the medieval 
Hebrew work Midrash Aseret ha-Dibberot. 
P. 64 Guttman, M. and S. Klein. 
Bib/iographie der Schriften 
Wilhelm Bachers nebst einem 
Hebraischen Sach-und Ortsnamen 
Register. (Blau, L., Ed.) 
Frankfort a. M., 1910. 
This bibliography was actually compiled by 
Ludwig Blau; Guttman and Klein compiled 
the indices appended to the b'ibliography. 
Their work is acknowledged in the preface, 
and they are not even mentioned on the ti­
tle page. (Cf. the entry for this item under 
"Blau, Ludwig" in NUC pre-1956 Imprints, v. 
61, p. 19.) 
In many instances, an editor of a volume is 
incorrectly designated as its author. Some 
examples are: 
P. 76 Luzzatto, S. D. Betulat Bat 
Yehudah. Prague, 1840. 
This is actually a selection of poems by 
Judah ha-Levi, edited by Luzzatto. 
P. 76 Luzzatto, S. D. Tai Orot. 
Przemysl, 1881. 
This is a collection of medieval poems, 
edited by Luzzatto. 
P. 66 Geon ha-Geonim. By S. A. 
Wertheimer. Jerusalem, 1925. 
P. 67 Kohelet Shelomoh. By 
S. A. Wertheimer. 
Jerusalem, 1899. 
Wertheimer is the editor of both of the above 
works. 
P. 76 Neubauer, A. Melekhet ha-shir. 
A corrected entry for this item would thus Frankfurt am Main, 1865. 
�= p�1�a 
Teshuvot Geonim ve-Rishonim (Ed. Esriel Neubauer is the editor. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 13 
P. 44 Rosenthal, J. L . Toledot 
Hevrat Marbei Ha-Haskalah 
be-Yisra'el. St. Petersburg, 1885, 1890. 
Rosenthal is the editor of this collection of 
documents. 
More information is needed for some of the 
more obscure and esoteric items listed by 
IDC. 
For example: 
P. 37 Pines, Y. M. Shimu Harim Rivi. 
Jerusalem, 1882. 
This item is a two-page broadside published 
by Pines to defend himself against his 
detractors. No indication is given in the cata­
log as to the nature of this item. 
P. 37 Schlesinger, A. J. Kol Nehi 
mi-Ziyyon. Jerusalem, 1872. 
This item was published anonymously, and 
no clue to its authorship appears in it. For 
confirmation, see Malachi, 1971, pp. 287-89; 
Gat, 1973/4, p. 143. Proof of authorship 
would have been helpful. 
At least one item reprinted by IDC is of ques­
tionable value. This is: 
P. 69 Sha'arei Berakhot. By Samuel 
ben Hophni (Ed. I. Wiess [i.e. , Weiss]). 
Vienna, 1882. 
This item is an extract from the journal Bet 
Talmud 2 (1882): 377-386, a fact which 
should have been mentioned. The text was 
later edited and included by B. M. Lewin in 
his collection Otsar ha-ge' onim to Berakhot 
(Haifa, 1928), pp. 65-77. In his introduction, 
Lewin refers to Weiss' edition as containing 
a few corrections and many deficiencies, as 
well as extraneous material. In light of this 
assessment, I wonder how valuable Weiss' 
edition is to scholars, and whether it was 
worth reprinting. 
Finally, there are many typographical errors 
and errors in transliteration in the catalog, 
which detract from its usefulness and can 
cause catalogers problems. 
Some examples: 
P. 69 Sefer Rav Amram Gaon 
(A. L. Framkin, Ed.) 
This should read Sidur tefilah . . .  'im Seder 
Rav Amram Gaon (Ed. A. L. Frumkin). 
P. 68 Re'umah attributed to Nashhon 
Gaon. 
The name should be Nahshon. 
P. 36 Horowitz, H. Hibbat Ziyyon. 
Jerusalem, 1844. 
The title actually is Hibbat Yerusha/ayim. 
P. 37 Mishpat l'Ekolei Yaakov. 
This should read Mishpat l'Elokei Yaakov. 
P. 42 Dubnow, S. (Ed.) Pinkas Medinat 
Lita. Berlin, 1928. 
The title should read Pinkas ha-medinah. 
The title given is the running title. 
P. 66 Loew, L. Graphische Requisiten 
und Erzeugnisse bei den Juden. 
Leipzig, 1869-1870, 1870-1871, v.1-2. 
This item is part of the author's Beitrage zur 
JOdischen Alterthumskunde, and is usually 
entered under the latter title. While the en­
try is not wrong, mention of the main title 
should have been made, since many 
libraries would not have an added entry un­
der the above title, and unnecessary dupli­
cation may result. 
Conclusion 
The aforesaid notwithstanding, I would not 
like to discourage libraries from purchasing 
material from IDC. IDC is providing an in­
valuable service to the scholarly commu­
nity, and most of its publications are in good 
order. My purpose in this paper is to alert 
libraries to the problems they may encoun­
ter in cataloging some of the items IDC is 
marketing. I also hope to bring to IDC's at­
tention the concerns of librarians who are 
involved in purchasing and cataloging these 
materials. IDC would be well advised to en­
gage the services of a qualified Judaica 
librarian to help them correct the errors in 
their catalog and to prevent the occurrence 
of such errors in the future. Finally, Judaica 
librarians who come across major errors in 
IDC's catalog are urged to bring them to the 
attention of other librarians by publishing 
their findings in Judaica Librarianship. 
References 
[EJ] Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Ency­
clopaedia Judaica, 197 1-72. 16 v. 
Gat, Ben-Zion. Ha-Yishuv ha-Yehudi be-Erets-Yis­
ra'el bi-shenot 5600-5641 (1840-1881). Jerusa­
lem: Yad Y itsbak Ben-Tsevi, 1973/4.1 
[IDC] Inter Documentation Co. Jewish Studies: 
Research Collections on Microform. Zug, Swit­
zerland: IDC, [ 1983]. 
Kressel, Getzel, Leksikon ha-sifrut ha-·Jvrit ba­
dorot ha-abaronim. Merbavyah: Sifriyat po'a­
lim, 1965-67. 2 v.3 
Malachi, Elieze_- Raphael. Perakim be-to/dot ha­
Yishuv ha-yashan. Tel-Aviv: Universitat Tel-Aviv, 
197 1.2 
Malter, Henry. Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works. 
Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of 
America, 1921. 
Marmorstein, Arthur. Studies in Jewish Theology: 
The Arthur Marmorstein Memorial Volume. 
Edited by J. Rabbinowitz and M. S. Lew. Lon­
don, New York: Oxford University Press, 1950. 
[ NUC] National Union Catalog: Pre-1956 Imprints. 
London: Mansell, 1968- 198 1. 754 v. 
14 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No.  1-2 Spring 1985 
Hebrew Bibliographic Data 
,N,'ll'-�iN:i ,.,n,,n !ll'll'tl -�P�-p ,m . l 
. ( 1881-1840) N">lint1-i"nt1 nu'O:i 
.1"?\!J!l ,''.J�-p pn�, 1' :O'?l!J)"P 
.,'ll'tl !ll'll'tl n,1,,n:i 0,p,!1 .,.N ,':>N'.Jn .2 
.N"?\!J!l ,'.J''.JN-'.Jn !l\J'\?'l'.J')1N :'.J''.JN-'.Jn 
n,,:ivn n,,!ltm ,,;,,1,p, .'.J�:1 ,'.Jo,p .3 
,o,'.JYt!:l n,,.!:io :n''.ln,n .0m,nNt1 n,,n:i 
.',:, 2 .1967-1965 
Acknowledgment 
I would like to acknowledge the help of my as­
sistant, Tamar Baxter, who cataloged most of the 
items from the IDC collection purchased by the 
University of Toronto Library and first brought to 
my attention many of the problems discussed in 
this paper. 
Dr. Barry Walfish is Hebraica and Judaica 
Cataloguer and Bibliographer at the Univer­
sity of Toronto Library, Toronto, Canada. 
Friedman (continued from p. 9) 
have succeeded admirably. This volume is 
extremely useful for everyone but the seri­
ous specialist. The Anti-Defamation League 
of B'nai B'rith should be applauded for sup­
porting this project, although the book is not 
as handsomely produced as earlier ADL 
bibliographic guides on Jewish history and 
Judaism. 
The above reservations notwithstanding, 
Professors Hundert and Bacon deserve our 
thanks for a book that will be useful for 
many, many years. 
Mark Friedman is Director of the Institute for 
Public Affairs of the Union of Orthodox Jew­
ish Congregations of America, based in New 
York. As a fellow of the Max Weinreich Cen­
ter for Advanced Jewish Studies of YIVQ he 
specialized in East European Jewish history. 


IDC Jewish Studies on Microfiche: A Critique

IN THE BEGINNING ♦ ♦ ♦ Bella Hass Weinberg Co-Editor 
In the mind of the layman, libraries are often associated with cultural experiences, and the job of the librarian is 
considered an easy, pleasant one, with the mere prerequisite-a love of reading. In the Jewish world, with its 
tremendous respect for books and learning, libraries are placed on an even higher pedestal, and the librarian is 
often termed a yode'a sefer_!knower of the book.' 
In contrast to the layman's perception, the typical practicing Judaica librarian-although often a bibliophile-reports 
that his or her job allows minimal time for reading or perusal of little more than the title pages of books. Today's 
professional Judaica librarian probably spends more time reading the professional literature of the field than schol-
arly or even popular works in Jewish Studies. 
The layman's expectation for a journal entitled Judaica Librarianship is, consequently, that it would be filled with 
articles on Jewish culture and focus on the themes of books. When presented with an actual issue of JL, the layman 
expresses surprise at the preponderance of technical articles in our journal. It is this editor's opinion, however, 
that the technical article is precisely what the Judaica librarian needs. It is true that Judaica libraries are repositories 
of Jewish culture, but without a mastery of the techniques for organizing such collections, we cannot effectively 
transmit that culture to our user communities. 
In my experience with several graduate schools of librarianship, I have encountered the type of education which 
emphasizes that libraries are cultural institutions, and focuses on preaching "philosophy of library service" without 
adequately teaching students the skills needed to provide that service. In my view, it is axiomatic that libraries 
and librarians exist to provide service to their user communities, but it is the responsibility of those educating 
librarians-whether through classroom teaching or publications-to go beyond that axiom. 
What are the concrete skills that we would like to see in the "crackerjack" Judaica librarian? A background in Jewish 
studies is generally assumed. If the librarian works in collection development, a familiarity with the major bibliogra-
phies and trade catalogs and a knowledge of the international book trade are necessary. For the cataloger, we 
generally require multi-lingualism-most frequently, knowledge of Hebrew, Yiddish, Western languages, Slavic lan-
guages or Arabic-plus an understanding of general cataloging and classification theory and systems, and of the 
specific systems applied to Judaica. From the reference librarian, we demand familiarity with the structure of in-
dexes, bibliographies, etc., as well as with the tools created by catalogers. The synagogue or school librarian respon·· 
sible for all the above functions has to have a measure of all these skills, plus a talent for public relations. For the 
rare book librarian, we assume a knowledge of the history of Jewish printing and of descriptive bibliography. And 
so on for the other specialties-a combination of general library science knowledge and the unique characteristics 
of Judaica. 
In this issue, we feature columns and full-length articles designed to provide th·z professional Judaica librarian with 
authoritative, current information in his/her area of specialization and in cognate fields. (The editors emphasize 
accuracy and readability as well, wh;ch sometimes has a negative effect on currency.) Changes in cataloging rules 
for Hebraica; new Judaica subject headings from the Library of Congress; recent Judaica periodicals, acquisition 
tools and reference works; and recommended books for Jewish children are among the categories of information 
we trust will be essential reading for librarians working in those respective areas, and of interest as well to those 
in related areas to help keep them abreast of developments in the field. 
Our reviews are written by experts who can, off the "top of their heads," provide addenda and corrections to 
published Judaica reference sources. In our full-length articles, a basic familiarity with library science and with 
Jewish concepts is assumed, and our contributing authors provide insights into and analysis of many facets of our field. 
We also welcome historical articles and essays on the place of Judaica libraries within the Jewish cultural tradition. 
While we do not review individual works of adult or children's literature, we publish surveys of bibliographic in-
terest, analyses of themes and genres in Jewish literature, and interviews with contemporary authors. Original es-
says on the philosophy of Judaica library service are encouraged as well. 
We hope our readers agree with the delimitation of the scope of our joL:Jrnal and that you find the articles we 
publish relevant, informative, and well written. The technical image of our journal is a tribute to the sophistication 
of our profession, which demands much more than a love of culture and reading. Let us know whether Judaica 
Librarianship is helping you provide better service to your user community. Please share your specialized knowl-
edge with your colleagues by writing for your professional journal. 
JLidaica Librarianship Vol. 2 No. 1-2 Spring 1985 3 


In The Beginning

Not a member yet