Association of Jewish Libraries Publishing

Wellisch, Hans H.

DEWEINEAZAR 
The Universal Decimal Classification and its Appllcation to Jewish Materials 
Bella Weinberg's article on Jewish classi-
fication schemes which appeared in the 
first issue of Judaica Librarianship 
(Weinberg, 1983), mentioned the Universal 
Decimal Classification (UDC) very briefly, 
and the bibliographic references may have 
led readers to believe that UDC schedules 
for Jewish topics exist only in a Hebrew • 
edition (though this was certainly not the 
author's intention). Although it is not very 
well known in the United States, the UDC is 
actually the largest, most detailed, and 
mos.t widely used classification scheme in 
the world, and it may be of interest to JL's 
readers to discuss its major features as well 
as its treatment of Jewish topics. 
The UDC was originally developed in 1885 
for the classification of .a huge card index of 
the world's literature in all fields of 
knowledge, and its schedules were first 
published (in French) in 1905. Dewey's 
scheme-then in its 5th edition-was taken 
as the basic framework, but was expanded 
(with Dewey's permission and support) 
into a much more detailed system. UDC 
features a notation which, in addition to 
numerals, makes use of typographic signs 
in order to indicate what we today call 
facets, thus achieving a more compact, yet 
expressive notation that gives visual clues 
to the various elements of a compound 
subject. Although UDC today no longer 
follows Dewey's Decimal Classification 
(DC) in detail, many basic notations are 
still either the same or compatible with DC. 
The main difference lies in the synthetic 
structure of the UDC. 
Thus, while DC introduces the place facet 
by 09, followed by the code for the specific 
region, e.g., -73 for the. U.S., UDC uses 
parentheses to indicate place. Thus, for the 
concept "Plant cultivation in the U.S." DC 
has the notation 631.50973, while UDC has 
631.5(73). Not only place, but also 
language, physical form, races and 
peoples, time periods, specific points of 
view and recurring subdivisions can be 
expressed independently by suitable facet 
notations appended to the main class 
mark for a subject. In addition, UDC 
Hans H. Well/sch 
University of Maryland 
College Park, MD 
makes it possible to link two or more 
notations to express a complex subject by 
means of a colon, e.g., Irrigation systems 
for plant cultivation, 626.84 : 631.5. The 
system is not designed primarily for the 
arrangement of books on shelves, but 
rather for the construction of classified 
catalogs where combinations of notations 
can be shown in two, three or\more places, 
depending on the number of elements, 
always in relation to all other notations. 
Thus, in the example just given, 626.84 : 
631.5 may be found under 626.84 and 
under 631.5: 626.84, and if the. place facet 
for U.S. (73) is added, a third file can be 
created showing everything American 
under (73), e.g. (73)626.84 : 631.5. 
These features make the UDC a highly 
synthetic and flexible system, and it has 
found wide· application in Europe, in most 
Latin American countries, in the Soviet 
Union (where all sci-tech publications 
must be classified by UDC) and in Japan 
and Israel (because UDC is independent of 
language and script). Needless to say, 
searching "up and down a hierarchy" and 
searching notations either singly or in 
• combination with others is a task ideally 
suited to computer manipulation, and 
these possibilities are only now beginning 
• to be realized in online retrieval, although 
the first successful experiments on UDC 
were performed in 1965 in the U.S. at the 
American Institute of Physics (Freeman, 
1967). 
Until the late 1960s, Jewish religion, 
history, and other topics of Jewish interest 
were rather poorly and unevenly 
developed in UDC. When the first f-lebrew 
Abridged Edition of the UDC was planned, 
an effort was made to expand and update 
the schedules pertaining to Jewish topics. 
While the synthetic structure of the UDC 
was taken into consideration, new and 
revised sections were developed by a team 
consisting of Dr. Jacob Rothschild (then 
director of the Graduate School of Library 
Studies at the Hebrew University in 
Jerusalem), Dr. Hanna Oppenheimer 
(lecturer at the same institution), and 
myself, as editor of the Hebrew edition. 
94 Judaica Librarianship Vol.1 No. 2 Spring 1984 
The main subdivisions of the revised 
schedules are shown in Table 1. The 
principal innovations and changes were: a 
new separate schedule for the Bible in 
Jewish canonical order at 221; a revised 
and expanded schedule for Judaism at 
296, partially modelled on Scholem's 
scheme (but without its notation); and a 
schedule for the History of Jews at 933, 
combining elements of the earlier Israeli 
adaptation of DC and Scholem's scheme. 
The revised schedules still lack a separate 
detailed subdivision for the Dead Sea 
Scrolls and fragments, which are at present 
classed with the Qumran community at 
296.624. The notation 296.7, immediately 
preceding 296.8 Talmud and Midrash 
remains unused, and will probably be the 
future place for Dead Sea Scrolls, still to be 
elaborated by experts on that subject. 
TABLE 1 
MAIN SUBDIVISIONS OF UDC 
SCHEDULES FOR JEWISH SUBJECTS 
296 
.1 
. 2 
.3 
.31 
.38 
.4 
.5 
.6 
[.7] 
.8 
933 
956.94 
Jewish religion. Judaism 
Jewish theology and philosophy 
Apologetics and polemics . 
Antisemitism 
Jewish prayer and ritual 
Prayers 
Shabbath and holidays 
Jewish ethics. Sermons 
Halakhah 
Jewish sects and religious 
movements 
[Not assigned. Possible future 
place of Dead Sea Scrolls] • 
Talmud and Midrash 
History of the Jewish people 
History of Palestine and Israel 
Table 2 provides a comparison of DC and 
UDC notations for some of the major 
topics of Jewish interest; one notes that not 
all topics subordinated in DC to 296 are 
also in that schedule of UDC, e.g., Zionism 
is classed as a political movement in 323, 
and its history is expressed by the 
appropriate facet (09). 
The 296 schedule was designed to allow a 
large measure of flexibility by using parts 
of the schedule itself to give prime 
emphasis either to the practices of specific 
religious traditions, sects or movements, 
subordinated to various aspects of Jewish 
religion, law, rites and customs or, alterna-
tively, to emphasize these aspects and 
subarrange them by movements and sects. 
For example, a work on "Sermons of 
Reform congregations in the 19th century" 
could be classed under Sermons at 
296.45'681 "18" (where 296.45 is Sermons, 
'681 is taken from the latter part of 296.681 
Reform movement, and "18" is 19th 
century. If, however, a library prefers to 
keep everything on the Reform movement 
together, the notation would be 
296.681'45"18". This could, of course, be 
made even more exact by, for example, 
specifying German Reform congregations, 
resulting in the notation 296.45'681 (43) "18". 
Such a notation would hardly be useful as a 
shelf mark, nor is it likely to be needed in a 
classified catalog, unless the collection 
consists of a large number of sermons from 
various congregations in many different 
countries. 
Because of this potential for high specificity 
and resulting complex notation, UDC has 
undeservedly earned a reputation for being 
an extremely complicated classification 
scheme. Specificity is, however, only a 
possibility offered, not a necessary feature 
of practical application. The book on 
Reform sermons could get the simple 
notation 296.45, or at most 296.45'681, 
which would still express the two main 
facets of its topic and result in a shelf mark 
not longer than most DC notations. Thus, 
the UDC may offer those Jewish libraries 
which sometimes find DC, or classification 
schemes based on it, insufficiently detailed 
an opportunity to expand DC notations-
either by using the UDC facets for place, 
time, form, etc., or by using the more 
detailed breakdown of certain topics. 
In order to facilitate comparison with other 
Jewish classification schemes, Table 3 
extends the structural analysis of schemes 
Table 2 
COMPARISON OF SOME DC AND UDC NOTATIONS FOR JEWISH SUBJECTS 
Dewey Decimal SubJect as defined in DC Universal Decimal Classification 
181.06 Jewish philosophy 1 ... (=924) a 
221 Bible (Old Testament) 221b 
296 Judaism 296 
. 1 Sources 296.5/.Sc 
.3 Doctrinal, moral, social 296.1 
theology 
.4 Traditions, rites, 296.3 
public services 
.6 Leaders, organizations, 06(=924) 
activities 
.7 Religious experience', 296.4 
life, practice 
.8 Sects and movements 296.6 
909.04924 History of Jews 933d 
913.3 Geography of Palestine 915.694(33) 
before A. D. 70 
915.694 Geography of Israel 915.694 
933 History of Palestine 956.94.01 
before AD. 70 
933.609e History of Zionism 323. 13(=924) (09) 
956.94 History of Palestine 956. 94. 02/. 051 
after AD. 70 
a No specific notation. Jewish conception of any philosophy may be expressed by 
(=924). Jewish religious philosophy is 296.14. 
b With detailed subdivision for all 24 books according to Jewish tradition. 
c See also table 1. In UDC, consecutive class notations are indicated by /. 
ct With detailed subdivisions for all periods. 
e Authorized Israeli expansion (in Hebrew DC edition only). 
1 With detailed breakdown of post-Second Temple periods until present. 
displayed in Weinberg's Table 1 (p. 29 of 
her article), augmented by a column 
headed "Amenable to computerized 
searching," which would probably not be 
applicable to any of the other schemes 
because they lack a faceted structure. 
One of the advantages of the UDC is the 
fact that a large international organization, 
the International Federation for Documen-
TABLE 3 
tation (best known by its French acronym 
FID), stands behind it, and that it is 
continuously updated by a network of 
international committees. On the other 
hand, since it is not very widely used in the 
U.S., there is no service that offers ready-
made UDC notations on cards or in any 
other form. Thus, every classifier has to 
construct notations from the schedules, 
(continued on page 107) 
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE UNIVERSAL DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION 
APPLIED TO JUDAICA * 
Amenable 
Compatibility Availability to com-
Philosophical with general Possibilities of class Updating puterized 
acceptability Specificity Notation systems of synthesis notations frequency searches 
Medium Very high Complex High Very high None Frequent Yes 
*This analysis is designed to supplement Weinberg's Table in Juda/ca Librarianship vol. 1, no. 1, p. 29. UDC, while mentioned briefly in that 
article, was not given a detailed analysis, because the focus of the paper was on classification schemes suitable for synagogue and school 
libraries, whereas UDC is a more research library-oriented scheme. - Ed. (B.H. W.) 
Judaica Librarianship Vol.1 No. 2 Spring 1984 95 
DEWEINEAZAR ·Welllsch 
(continued from page 95) 
the English editions of which are being 
published by the British Standards 
Institution in London. These are available 
either as "Full editions"-in separate 
booklets covering whole classes or certain 
parts of them-or in a ~'Medium Edition," 
with shorter class numbers suitable for the 
needs of most libraries, which will be 
published in 1985. Full editions exist for 
class 2 (Religion) and 9 (History). (British 
Standards must be ordered in the U.S. 
through the American National Standards 
. Institute in New York.) 
A ''U.S. Information Center for the UDC" is 
housed at the College of Library and • 
Information Services of the University of 
Maryland (College Park, MD 20742). A 
master file of all English UDC editions and 
annual updates is kept here, as well as 
about a dozen editions in other languages. 
UDC users in North America may turn to 
the Center for advice and information. 
References 
Freeman, R.R., "The management of a 
classification scheme: modern ap-
proaches exemplified by the UDC 
Project of the American Institute of 
Physics." Journal of Documentation 
Vol. 23 (1967), pp. 304-320. 
Weinberg, Bella Hass, "Judaica Classifica-
tion Schemes for Synagogue and 
School Libraries: A Structural Analysis," • 
Judaica Librarianship, Vol. 1 No. 1 (Fall 
1983), pp. 26-30. 
Prof. Hans H. Wellisch teaches in the 
College of Library and Information Services 
of the University of Maryland and currently 
serves as the President of the American 
Society of Indexers. 
MANAGEMENT-JEWISH 
Herbert C. Zafren 
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion 
Cincinnati, Ohio 
My role as Contributing Editor for Manage-
ment is to encourage people to write 
articles on management and to shepherd 
them through part of the editorial process. 
In this first column, I invite readers to 
contribute not only full-fledged articles on 
management to Juda/ca Librarianship, but 
also smaller reports, notices, and thoughts 
that can be combined into a column from 
time to time. 
What is "management," and what consti-
tutes a Judaic angle that justifies a place in 
this journal? 
Without going into dictionary or textbook 
definitions, management is goal-setting, 
planning, budgeting, implementing, 
quantifying, evaluating, reporting. 
Management really covers every area of 
library activity. 
And what is "Judaic"? It is that something 
that sets our libraries- or departments-
apart from others. It is the special subjects 
or languages, the problems of "right-to-
1 eft" or of multiple languages, the 
appropriate partners for exchange of 
materials, the specialized clienteles, the 
suppliers of funds, etc. 
Now, granting that everything, more or 
less, that goes on in a library involves 
management, it is inevitable that this 
column will overlap the other departments 
of the journal. [See Margot Berman's 
column on synagogue library gift policy in 
this issue - Eds.] Other members of the 
Editorial Board may lay claim to any of the 
following suggested topics: 
1. Photoduplication price structures 
2. Computers in administration 
3. Managing slide collections 
4. Managing microform collections 
5. Circulation systems 
6. Staff structures 
7. Salary scales 
8. Acquisitions profiles 
9. Evaluating gifts 
1 O. Interlibrary loan policies 
11. Preservation policies 
12. Disposing of duplicates 
13. Staffing 
14. Priorities in cataloging 
(Articles submitted to this column on 
topics which clearly relate to another 
subject department will be referred to the 
appropriate Contributing Editor for review 
and returned to Dr. Zafren - Eds.] 
If you have an interest in writing on any of 
the above, or on other aspects of manage-
ment, please communicate with me, and 
we shall define the scope of the study you 
plan to undertake and the report or article 
that you hope to write. Remember that the 
Judaic aspect (liberally interpreted) of 
what you treat, or a comparative approach 
between general and Judaica libraries, is 
what makes the article eligible for publica-
tion in Juda/ca Librarianship . 
In the meantime, until the articles begin to 
flow in a steady stream, and even after, 
there are always things going on in your 
libraries or in your thoughts that you 
should want to share with colleagues. My 
column- giving each contributor credit-
. can be the conduit for these sharings. If 
you learn about new equipment that might 
be useful in Judaic libraries, the manage-
ment column may not be the place for too 
technical a description; but this is the place 
to describe how the hardware might 
improve productivity. If your library is 
experimenting with, or just thinking about, 
new policies, techniques, or devices in the 
organization of tasks; in interpersonal 
relations; in recruiting-let us know. If you 
have public relations ideas or successes, 
interlibrary activities that are worth 
expanding, communications innovations, 
new ways of doing old things, report them. 
As I see it, your studies and articles should 
be useful summaries of the state of 
something important, or thoughtful and 
deliberate projections for the future. My 
column, through your input, may also 
become the place for less formal reports, 
news, and even flights of fancy on the 
subject of managing the Judaica library. 
Herbert C. Zafren, first president of the 
Association of Jewish Libraries, is the 
Director of Libraries at Hebrew Union 
College-Jewish Institute of Religion with 
headquarters in Cincinnati, and branches 
in New York, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol.1 No. 2 Spring 1984 107 


English

The Universal Decimal Classification and its Application to Jewish Materials

Association of Jewish Libraries

Vol. 1:2 Cover

Vol. 1:2 Front Matter

Zafren, Herbert C.

DEWEINEAZAR ·Wellisch 
(continued from page 95) 
the English editions of which are being 
published by the British Standards 
Institution in London. These are available 
either as "Full editions"-in separate 
booklets covering whole classes or certain 
parts of them-or in a ~•Medium Edition," 
with shorter class numbers suitable for the 
needs of most libraries, which will be 
published in 1985. Full editions exist for 
class 2 (Religion) and 9 (History). (British 
Standards must be ordered in the U.S. 
through the American National Standards 
Institute in New York.) 
A "U.S. Information Center for the UDC" is 
housed at the College of Library and • 
Information Services of the University of 
Maryland (College Park, MD 20742). A 
master file of all English UDC editions and 
annual updates is kept here, as well as 
about a dozen editions in other languages. 
UDC users in North America may turn to 
the Center for advice and information. 
References 
Freeman, R.R., "The management of a 
classification scheme: modern ap-
proaches exemplified by the UDC 
Project of the American Institute of 
Physics." Journal of Documentation 
Vol. 23 (1967), pp. 304-320. 
Weinberg, Bella Hass, "Judaica Classifica-
tion Schemes for Synagogue and 
School Libraries: A Structural Analysis," 
Judaica Librarianship, Vol. 1 No. 1 (Fall 
1983), pp. 26-30. 
Prof. Hans H. Wellisch teaches in the 
College of Library and Information Services 
of the University of Maryland and currently 
serves as the President of the American 
Society of Indexers. 
MANAGEMENT-JEWISH 
Herbert C. Zafren 
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion 
Cincinnati, Ohio 
My role as Contributing Editor for Manage-
ment is to encourage people to write 
articles on management and to shepherd 
them through part of the editorial process. 
In this first column, I invite readers to 
contribute not only full-fledged articles on 
management to Judaica Librarianship, but 
also smaller reports, notices, and thoughts 
that can be combined into a column from 
time to time. 
What is "management," and what consti-
tutes a Judaic angle that justifies a place in 
this journal? 
Without going into dictionary or textbook 
definitions, management is goal-setting, 
planning, budgeting, implementing, 
quantifying, evaluating, reporting. 
Management really covers every area of 
library activity. 
And what is "Judaic"? It is that something 
that sets our libraries- or departments-
apart from others. It is the special subjects 
or languages, the problems of "right-to-
1 eft" or of multiple languages, the 
appropriate partners for exchange of 
materials, the specialized clienteles, the 
suppliers of funds, etc. 
Now, granting that everything, more or 
less, that goes on in a library involves 
management, it is inevitable that this 
column will overlap the other departments 
of the journal. [See Margot Berman's 
column on synagogue library gift policy in 
this issue - Eds.] Other members of the 
Editorial Board may lay claim to any of the 
following suggested topics: 
1. Photoduplication price structures 
2. Computers in administration 
3. Managing slide collections 
4. Managing microform collections 
5. Circulation systems 
6. Staff structures 
7. Salary scales 
8. Acquisitions profiles 
9. Evaluating gifts 
10. Interlibrary loan policies 
11. Preservation policies 
12. Disposing of duplicates 
13. Staffing 
14. Priorities in cataloging 
[Articles submitted to this column on 
topics which clearly relate to another 
subject department will be referred to the 
appropriate Contributing Editor for review 
and returned to Dr. Zafren - Eds.] 
If you have an interest in writing on any of 
the above, or on other aspects of manage-
ment, please communicate with me, and 
we shall define the scope of the study you 
plan to undertake and the report or article 
that you hope to write. Remember that the 
Judaic aspect (liberally interpreted) of 
what you treat, or a comparative approach 
between general and Judaica libraries, is 
what makes the article eligible for publica-
tion in Judaica Librarianship. 
In the meantime, until the articles begin to 
flow in a steady stream, and even after, 
there are always things going on in your 
libraries or in your thoughts that you 
should want to share with colleagues. My 
column- giving each contributor credit-
can be the conduit for these sharings. If 
you learn about new equipment that might 
be useful in Judaic libraries, the manage-
ment column may not be the place for too 
technical a description; but this is the place 
to describe how the hardware might 
improve productivity. If your library is 
experimenting with, or just thinking about, 
new policies, techniques, or devices in the 
organization of tasks; in interpersonal 
relations; in recruiting-let us know. If you 
have public relations ideas or successes, 
interlibrary activities that are worth 
expanding, communications innovations, 
new ways of doing old things, report them. 
As I see it, your studies and articles should 
be useful summaries of the state of 
something important, or thoughtful and 
deliberate projections for the future. My 
column, through your input, may also 
become the place for less formal reports, 
news, and even flights of fancy on the 
subject of managing the Judaica library. 
Herbert C. Zafren, first president of the 
Association of Jewish Libraries, is the 
Director of Libraries at Hebrew Union 
College-Jewish Institute of Religion with 
headquarters in Cincinnati, and branches 
in New York, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. 
Judaica Librarianship Vol.1 No. 2 Spring 1984 107 


Management—Jewish

Posner, Marcia W.

LITERARY THEMES 
Man of the Year: the Golem 
This is definitely the year of the Go/em. At the AJL conference last June in Atlanta, Assistant Professor of English at 
the University of North Carolina, Dr. Jay Jacoby, read a paper on the Go/em (and Lilith) to an audience of Judaica 
librarians. In July, a small off-Broadway theater group performed a version of "The Go/em." In August, the New York 
Shakespeare Festival's production of Leivick's }'The Go/em" played to packed houses at the Delacorte Theater in 
Central Park, and no less an authority than J.B. Singer interviewed himself in the New York Times (Section 2, August 
12, 1984), on why the myth of the Go/em has persisted . .. In September, I interviewed Beverly Brodsky, whose 
picture book The Go/em won a Caldecott Honor Award and an ALA Notable Book Award. I recently learned that the 
New York Police Department is using a robot-an electronic Go/emf-to protect children from abuse by teaching 
them how to react to dange_r. 
If so much interest in the Go/em is being evidenced, why not plan a library-sponsored program on "The Go/em in 
Literature?" It is, unfortunately, an appropriate theme for the times. We live in a period of great uneasiness over 
rising anti-Semitism in this country and around the world; a time when Russian policemen arrest five Hebrew School 
teachers and wreck their homes while "searching for drugs used in religious rituals." It is reminiscent of the old 
blood-libel. The growth of the religious right is worrisome. If they're so right, then we're so wrong. Then, too, we have 
an example of a modern Go/em, nuclear energy, whose power, at once benevolent, can also run amok and destroy us 
all. One response to stressful situations has always been an increased interest in mysticism, in false Messiahs and 
Golemim, which is most likely why there is such a resurgence of interest in the Go/em. 
There are enough children's and adult books, periodical articles, films, etc. available on the subject to explore it 
thoroughly. Professor Jacoby's fascinating paper and bibliography, which, because of their length can only be 
excerpted here, will have done much of the research for you. A transcript of the interview with author/illustrator 
Brodsky, which follows Dr. Jacoby's paper, will help with children's programming. 
Introduction 
The Golem has been subject to a 
remarkable variety of characterizations. 
The legendary creature of clay has been 
variously interpreted as a dim-witted oaf (in 
Yiddish the word is used affectionately to 
mean "clumsy fool"); a compassionate and 
powerful champion of oppressed Jewry; a 
cautionary symbol of how power corrupts, 
of the sin of blasphemy, or of technology 
run amok; and, in the case of I.L. Peretz's 
wonderfully compressed short story, a 
vehicle for lamenting the loss of Yiddish-
keit. 
In the last decade, the Golem has inspired 
literary works by such major Jewish writers 
as 1.8. Singer (1982), Elie Wiesel (1983), 
and Cynthia Ozick (1983). He has figured 
in works of science fiction, horror, and the 
Holocaust. In addition, the Golem legend 
was drawn upon in several works written 
expressly for children, was the subject of 
two scholarly studies (Goldsmith, 1981; 
The Golem in Jewish Literature 
Jay Jacoby 
University of North Carolina at Charlotte 
Winkler, 1980), and inspired the revival of 
an opera, a Lubavitcher comic book series 
entitled Mendy and the Go/em, (Estrin 
et al.) and a recording (Jewish Radio 
Theatre, 1982) starring Star Trek's Mr. 
Spock, Leonard Nimoy (who, by the way, 
bears the Hebrew name Yehuda Leib, the 
same as that of the most famous of all 
creators of the Golem, seventeenth-
century Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel of 
Prague). Finally, many of the concepts 
which underpin the Golem legend may be 
found in such recent popularfifms as Blade 
Runner (Dick, 1982) and War Games 
(Bischoff, 1983.) 
Why does the story of the Golem bear so 
many retellings, with such a variety of 
changes in character portrayal? For 
centuries, people have been trying to 
establish the definitive, authoritative, true 
legend of the Golem. There is no denying 
that each writer has made an effort to 
imprint upon the legend his or her own 
personal and cultural experience. 
100 Judaica Librarianship Vol.1 No. 2 Spring 1984 
Marcia W. Posner 
Co-Editor-
Another· reason for variant portrayals of 
this legendary figure may lie in authors' 
attempts to court different audiences. 
Peter Ruggill (1979), aiming his work at 
young readers bred on Star Trek, has his 
Golem defending Jews not from Polish 
anti-Semites but from alien invaders from 
outer space. And Ozick's Golem, a female 
incarnation called Xantippe (Ozick, 1983), 
fights against the mandarin bureaucracy of 
New York's City Hall. Xantippe's creator, by 
the way, is not a wonder-working rabbi but 
a middle-aged civil servant named Ruth 
Puttermesser whom the Golem helps to 
become the mayor of New York, which she 
then helps to convert into a paradise on 
earth. Xantippe is not the first female 
Golem, despite Ozick's claim to the 
contrary. Solomon ibn Gabirol, an 
eleventh-century poet-philosopher from 
Valencia, also created a woman Golem 
who, legend has it, served him in sexual as 
well as domestic respects. 
The primary reason for such. a varied 


Man of the Year: The Golem

Barancik, Sue

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE 
Association of Jewish. Libraries Book Award for Children's Literature* 
Sue Baranclk 
It is my pleasure to present once again the 
AJL Book Awards for the best children's 
books of the year. The field of Jewish child-
ren's literature continues to grow in quality 
and quantity, making the task and 
rC;)Sponsibility of our committee reward-
ingly difficult. During the past year we -
reviewed thirty books: some excellent, 
others less so. We became so enmeshed in 
Voyage by ~dele Geras, that along with the 
Jewish immigrants making the Atlantic 
crossing to America, we reviewers felt 
seasick. We sympathized with little Molly 
in Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen when 
she tries to explain· an American Thanks-
giving to her immigrant mother. We were 
numbed by Gloria Miklowitz's Close to the 
Edge where a young and beautiful Jewish 
teenager who seemingly has everything, 
finds life so e1mpty that she contemplates 
suicide. We cried over the photographs of 
children caught in the Holocaust and 
Chana Abells' strikingly simple text in The 
Children We Remember. We learned from 
Malka Drucker's Shabbat: A Peaceful 
Island and Miriam Chaikin's Make Noise, 
Make Merry: The Story of Purim. We 
admired both the art and innovative 
Jewish Children's Books 
Too Good To Miss: 
Selected Ust of 1983 Contenders 
ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES 
BOOK AWARD COMMITTEE 
I. For the YoungNt - Early Elementary Grad• 
Abells, Chana The Children we Remember. Kar-Ben. 
Photographs of children enduring the Holocaust 
coupled with simple text A ''first" book about the 
Hol~ust. 
Cohen, Barbara Molly's Pilgrim. Lothrop. A delightful 
picture book story of a small Jewish Immigrant child's 
first experience with an American Thanksgiving. 
Garfield, Leon. The Writing on the Wall. ·livtlllam 
Morrow. A beautifully Illustrated interpretation of the 
Book of Danlel. 
Ginsburg, Marvell. The Tattooed Torah. UAHC. A true 
account of the seizure of Torahs by Nazis retold in an 
easy-to-read story. 
Medoff, Francine. The Mouse in the Matzsh Factory. 
Kar-Ben. A tiny mouse witnesses the making of 
matzah. 
Temple Adath B'nai Israel 
Evansville, IN 
adaptation of the Daniel story in Leon 
Garfield and Michael Bragg's The Writing 
on the Wall. We laughed over-Ike's latest 
problems in Ike and Mama and Trouble at 
School by Carol Snyder, and devoured the 
pages of activities, stories and information 
in The Jewish Kids Catalog by Chaya 
Burstein. These and our other favorites are 
listed at the end of this article. 
The committee noticed the increased 
number of submissions from small Jewish 
presses and self-published authors. 
Although neither their physical format nor 
literary quality measures up to the books 
chosen for our list, we are encouraged by 
their efforts. Several editors from these 
small, traditional houses reported to me in 
our phone conversations that they were 
trying to improve the quality of their 
publications, and I am sure they will. 
The fact that both of our award books 
come from Jewish publishing houses this 
year, rather than from trade houses as in 
past years, is another sign of the improving 
quality of Judaic presses. -Bubby, Me, and 
Memories by Barbara Pomerantz, 
published by the UAHC (Union of 
*Pomerantz, Barbara. Bubby, Me, and Memories. 
UAHC. Our award winner, this photoessaydellcately 
explores the love between grandchild and grand-
parent, even after the grandmother's death. 
• Sofer, Barbara Holiday Ac/Ventures of Achbar. Kar-
Ben. Short chapters center on the Jewish holidays 
and a resourceful mouse detective. 
II. For lllllddle Graden - Gl8dN 3-6 
. Burstein, Chaya. Jewish Kids Catalog. JPS. A com-
pendium of stories, activities, history, -penpals, book 
lists, and crafts. 
Chaikin, Miriam. How Yossi Beat the Evil Urge. Harper 
& Row. Daydreaming Is the big problem faced by a 
contemporary Hasidlc boy. Good insights Into 
Hasidic customs. 
Chalkln, Miriam. Make Noise, Make Merry: The Story 
of Purim. Clarion. The history and customs of Purim • 
charmingly explained. 
Drucker, Malka. Shabbat: A Peaceful Island. Holiday 
House. A welcome addition to her holiday series. 
Naylor, Phyllis. The Solomon System. Atheneum. The 
once happy home life of two brothers comes to an 
abrupt end when their parents decide to divorce. 
Snyder, Carol. Ike and Mama and Trouble at School. 
Coward-Mccann. Ike finds himself in lots of hot 
water In this fourth book of the nostalgic series. 
Sussman, Susan. There's No Such Thing as a Chanu-
kah Bush, Sandy Goldstein. Albert Whitman. The 
American Hebrew Congregations), is a 
departure from the curriculum-oriented 
books associated with this house; while 
publication of In the Mouth of the Wolf by 
Rose za_r by JPS (The Jewish Publication 
Society of America) represents a 
continuation of the fine juvenile book 
publishing of that house under the 
guidance of children's book editor, David 
Adler. We salute these two publishers and 
, wish them much success in the future. 
While we are saluting . . . there is a 
children's book author familiar to all of us, 
Sadie Rose Weilerstein, author of many 
books, notably the famous K'tonton series. 
Mrs. Weilerstein celebrates her ninetieth 
birthday this July, 1984, and the 
Association of Jewish Libraries is sending 
her a special certificate to mark the 
occasion. 
*Remarks ,:nade at the Banquet of the 19th 
Annual Convention of the Association of 
Jewish Libraries held in Atlanta, Georgia, 
June 26, 1984, where awards were granted 
for the best children's picture book and the 
best book for older children. 
Christmas-Chanukah conflict is resolved in a low-
key family story. 
Ill. For Young Adulfl • GntdN 7-10 
Geras, Adele. Voyage. Atheneum. Anticipation of 
America on the Atlantic crossing by old and young 
is described in a finely crafted novel. 
Marzollo, Jean. Do You Love Me, Harvey Burns? Dial. 
A Jewish boy creates problems of antl-8emitism. 
Mlklowltz, Gloria. Close to the Edge. Delacorte. A pretty, 
smart, rich, popular girt thinks about committing 
suicide until she experiences a change in values. 
Schotter, Ront.-. Northern Fried Chicken. Philomel. 
The Jewish • involvement in the Black Civil Rights 
Movement of the 1960s is the focus of this novel. 
Siegel, Beatrice. U/1/an Wald of Henry Street, Mac-
millan. A well-researched, reveallngbiographyofthe 
famous settlement house·nurse. 
*ZN, Rose. In the Mouth of the Wolf. JPS. Our award 
winner is a personal narrative of the author's success-
ful attempts to survive during the Holocaust. 
Sue Barancik is librarian at Temple Adath 
B'nai Israel, Evansville, IN, and a profes-
sional storyteller traveling to locations 
ranging from nursery schools to nursing 
homes. 
Judalca Librarianship Vol. 1 No. 2 Spring 1984 81 


Association of Jewish Libraries Book Award for Children's Literature

Hass Weinberg, Bella

The Cataloging of Jewish Liturgy by the Library of Congress: A Critique

Letters from Our Readers

Berman, Margot S.

SYNAGOGUE LIBRARIES 
Establishing a Policy on Gifts for the Synagogue Library 
Introduction 
A library's gift policy is usually based on its 
acquisition policy, which in turn reflects 
the basic philosophy of the institution. 
While it is preferable to have a formal 
acquisition policy, it is possible to establish 
a written gift policy even without such a 
document. 
These are some of the questions that arise 
concerning gifts to the synagogue library: 
- Who accepts or refuses book donations? 
- How does one decide whether to accept 
or reject a collection? 
- What is the library's policy on money or 
books donated with strings attached? 
- How does weeding affect donated 
books in the collection? 
The best way to deal with these issues is to 
establish a written gift policy, which will aid 
the librarian in resolving the various 
problems encountered in the handling of 
gifts from synagogue members. 
Some of my views on these questions 
follow. I encourage submission of 
alternative opinions and sample policy 
statements by readers of this column. 
Establishing the Policy 
A policy may be developed by the librarian 
in consultation with the library committee, 
if there is one, or with the Rabbi and/or 
administrator of the synagogue .• The 
minutes should be recorded and referred 
to when the need arises. 
Synagogue libraries are dependent for 
their support on Boards made up of 
congregants. In establishing policy, there-
fore, one must strike a balance between 
professional standards and public rela-
tions concerns. In dealing with members of 
the congregation regaroing gifts, it is 
essential that the librarian avoid confronta-
tion. The librarian should cite the policy 
and speak in the third person, e.g., "The 
synagogue library's gift policy states ... " 
Accepting the Gift 
It is unlikely that a synagogue librarian 
Margot S. Berman 
Temple Beth Am 
Miami, Florida 
would seek to establish a policy which 
would allow for the refusal of all book 
_ donations sight unseen, as hope always 
exists that a hardcover edition of an out-of-
print favorite will be one of the titles in the 
donation box. A compromise policy 
might state that books gjve□ to the library 
are accepted with the following provisos: 
the librarian will choose to keep the titles 
needed for the collection, and all books not 
. accepted remain the property of the donor; 
and the library will not dispose of, or 
distribute the remaining books to other 
parties. Alternatively, if local conditions 
make it possible, the librarian may 
volunteer to distribute the remaining books. 
Handling the Offer 
of a Large Collection 
A gift policy should deal with the offer 
of a large number of books to the collection 
which may have Jewish content, be in very 
good condition, and even valuable-but 
which deal with a subject area of little 
interest or use to a particular congregation. 
The addition of such a collection could 
markedly change the focus of a library, 
especially a small synagogue library. As a 
consequence of accepting a large special 
collection, the librarian would be compel-
led to choose between building upon this 
foundation or treating the collection as a 
"museum piece." Offers of large collections 
should be handled differently from the 
usual small donation of books; if a decision 
is made not to keep the offered gift, it would 
be good public relations for the librarian to 
volunteer to find a more suitable home for 
the collection; 
Gifts with "Strings Attached" 
How should one handle a gift of a large 
sum of money designated by the donor for 
the purchase of books on a very specific, 
narrow topic? If the subject requested is 
esoteric, or if the librarian senses that such 
material is not suitable for the synagogue 
collection, the donor should be persuaded 
to reconsider. It is a good idea to maintain a 
file of alternate suggestions to present at 
the opportune moment. 
A synagogue library is essentially a 
circulating library for laymen, and while it 
serves students, it is not generally 
designed for scholarly research. Articu-
lating this view, and documenting it as part 
of library policy, will prevent the problem of 
inappropriate gifts in almost all cases. 
Acknowledgment of Gifts 
In some cases, the librarian may be asked 
to send a letter to the book donor which 
includes a statement of dollar value for tax 
purposes. Policy should dictate that this 
request be ref used. The Ii brari a n's 
evaluation has no legal standing. It is 
suggested that the acknowledgment letter 
merely state that the library received "X 
number of used books in good condition," 
or "X number of new books"-together 
with the usual expressions of gratitude. 
Book Plates 
The question arises as to whether or not it 
is necessary to plate each gift book. I'm 
convinced that unless there is an explicit 
request to plate a gift book, not every book 
acquired through donations requires 
plating. If a member of the congregation 
can be made to understand that money 
s/he donates to the Book Fund is pooled 
with other gifts and used to purchase 
books for the library, the concept of one 
check for one book can be discouraged. 
On the other hand, if a donor offers to con-
tribute a sum of money large enough to 
cover the cost of a specific, expensive 
reference work, then by all means, a 
special book plate should feature the 
donor's name. In all questions of plating, 
common sense and good public relations 
dictate policy. 
Weeding Donated Materials 
Weeding, a necessary task in all synagogue 
libraries, presents a problem when the 
books to be weeded turn out to be gifts. An 
example serves to clarify this point. Some 
years ago, a member family donated 
numerous works by Sholom Aleichem to a 
synagogue library; the volumes in Yiddish 
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 1 No. 2 Spring 1984 113 
Casalini 
libri 
50014 FIESOLE 
(Firenze) l\aly 
Tel. 599941 
were never borrowed. The space on the 
shelves was needed, and therefore some-
thing had to be done. In my opinion, such a 
group of books can be weeded, but not dis-
carded. One solution would be to remove 
the books from the library to a storage area 
and mark the catalog cards "in storage." An 
alternative solution would be to contact the 
original donor and ask permission to give 
the books to another library which could 
make better use of them; however, if the 
donor cannot be contacted, then the 
librarian should feel responsible for 
keeping the donated books. Obviously, it is 
preferable to refuse such gifts to begin 
with, avoiding possible unpleasantness 
later. 
The most experienced supplier of Italian publications to libraries 
throughout the world 
Standing orders for series and multi-volume monographs 
Conclusions 
Highly selective blanket orders to meet every library's special requirements 
Establishing and administering an effective 
gift policy for the synagogue library 
necessitate finding the correct formula for 
each situation that may arise. As in all 
matters relating to the collection, it's 
important not to 'be rigid in interpreting 
policy, and equally important to enforce 
those policies which are in the best 
interests of the library's patrons. 
Subscription to periodicals with direct, centralized mailing 
Margot S. Berman, a past president of the 
Association of Jewish Libraries, is 
Librarian of Temple Beth Am in Miami, 
Florida. 
JEWISH GENEALOGY: A Sourcebook of Family 
Histories and Genealogies, by David S. Zubatsky and 
Irwin M. Berent. 
Identifies and locates some 6,300 genealogies, 
family trees, and family histories of nearly 3,500 
Jewish family names. " ... an important information 
resource in temple and synagogue library collections 
and in collections of Jewish studies materials." -
Jewish Librarians Caucus Newsletter. " ... an 
important tool for serious researchers in the field as 
well as for those with a simple yearning for Jewish 
roots." -American Jewish Archives. 
452 pp. ISBN 0-8240-9028-4 SS214 $33 
JEWISH MYSTICISM: An Annotated Bibliography 
on the Kabbalah in English, by Sheila A. Spector 
Surveys translations of texts or scholarly books and 
articles published in English from 1659 to the present. 
Index. 
416 pp. ISBN 0-8240-9042-X SS210 $45 
For additional titles, please write for a copy of our free 
Religion catalog. 
Garland Publishing 
136 Madison Avenue 
New York NY 10016 
114 Judaica Librarianship Vol.1 No. 2 Spring 1984 
Monthly bibliographical cards for all new books 
Searching for out-of-print material 
Library binding 
The editors of 
Judaica Librarianship 
gratefully acknowledge the support of 
Mr. Ludwig Jesselson, 
noted Judaica bibliophile and philanthropist, 
towards the publication 
of this issue. 


Establishing a Policy on Gifts for the Synagogue Library

Adler, Leah

Judaica Cataloging: A Selective Annotated Bibliography of Recent Publications in English

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