The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary

The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary is the premier research library for Judaica and Hebraica in the Western Hemisphere. The Library's holdings consist of 380,000 volumes, which represent all areas of Judaica, Hebraica, and related subjects, and reflect the geographic diversity of Jewish settlement throughout history. The Library is renowned for its strengths in Bible and biblical commentary, rabbinics, and mysticism, with materials from China, France, Germany, Italy, Persia, Spain, and Yemen, among other countries. As the largest repository of Hebrew manuscripts in the Western Hemisphere, The Library serves as a worldwide center for scholarly research.

The collections consist of items from the tenth to the twenty-first century in a wide variety of formats. Manuscripts, printed books, periodicals, archival papers, sound recordings, microfilms, videos, cassettes, CD-ROMs, electronic databases, musical scores, photographs, prints, maps, ketubot, megillot, slides, greeting cards and postcards, micrographs, and broadsides are all found in The Library's collection.

The reference collection consists of a core collection of classic Judaic texts in print and online format, as well as encyclopedias, concordances, dictionaries, atlases, indexes, and bibliographies. More than 1,800 periodical titles from around the world are found in the collection.

Located in the public areas of The Library are specially designated collections, including the Elias J. Bickerman Collection in early Christianity, the Educational Resource Center, the Sabin Family Music Library, the Helen and Norman Asher Audio-Visual Center, and the Louis Ginzberg Microfilm Collection.

The special collection houses the finest collection of rare books and manuscripts in the Western Hemisphere, along with significant archives and an extensive collection of Jewish art.

Through its active digitization, preservation and conservation programs, The Library is making its collections available to an ever-wider range of users over the web. The Library's website is a gateway to the online catalog; digital collections; online exhibitions; electronic resources; The Library's biannual publication, News from The Library; The Library's new book list; and a library products sales desk.

Circulation privileges are granted to students, faculty, and staff of JTS; Library members; members of the Rabbinical Assembly and Cantors Assembly; students, faculty, and staff of Columbia University; and faculty and students from other institutions with whom JTS has a consortium agreement.

The Library participates in interlibrary loans with libraries across the United States.

During the academic year, the public areas of The Library are open according to the following schedule:
Sunday: 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Monday through Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. to JTS's closing time

The special collections are open according to the following schedule:
Monday through Thursday: noon to 4:00 p.m.
Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

For the recess and holiday schedule, see calendars posted in The Library or on the website.

The Library is open to the public for onsite use with presentation of a valid photo ID.