About The Library

• Location and Hours
• Collections
• How to Find Materials
• History
• Contact Us
• Library Staff
• Schocken Library (Jerusalem)
• The Library Advisory Board

The Library Location

3080 Broadway (corner of 122nd Street)
New York, NY  10027
(212) 678-8082

The Library Hours

Fall and spring academic semesters:
Sunday: 9:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Monday–Thursday: 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (or JTS closing time)

Special collections hours:
Monday–Thursday: 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Friday: 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

Archives and Jewish Art collections are accessible by appointment only.
For Archives, please phone (212) 280-6011.
For Jewish Art, please phone (212) 678-8975.

The Library is closed on all Jewish holidays and on the following national holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Presidents' Day
• Memorial Day
• The Fourth of July 
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day

In addition, please note The Library's hours on the following days:

• Thursday, March 20, Erev Purim: closes at 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, April 18, Erev Pesah: closes at 1:00 p.m.
• Sunday–Monday, April 20–21, Pesah: closed
• Tuesday–Thursday, April 22–24, Hol Hamo'ed Pesah: closes at 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday, April 27, eighth day of Pesah: closed
• Thursday–Wednesday, May 8–14, finals week: open until midnight

back to top

Collections

• Reference
• Periodicals
• The Educational Resource Center (ERC)
• Music Library
• The Audio-Visual Center
• The Elias J. Bickerman Collection (EJB)
• The Goldman-Marx-Ginzberg Collection (GMG)
• The Leff Reading Room
• The Dr. Bernard Heller Reading Center

Reference

This area contains a collection of core Judaic texts, standard works, commentaries, discourse, encyclopedias, concordances, dictionaries, atlases, indexes, Festschriften, and an extensive section of bibliographies in all fields of Jewish studies.

Located on the second floor.

Periodicals

This area has over 1,000 titles in numerous languages, 750 of which are current subscriptions. The collection includes a wide range of titles in Jewish studies and education.

Located on the second and third floors.

The Educational Resource Center (ERC)

The Educational Resource Center (ERC) contains books, periodicals, textbooks, dissertations and theses, curriculum materials, and kits pertaining to education. It also contains juvenile literature and books on Judaic themes and traditions for children. The ERC serves as a resource for teachers and students.

Located on the third floor.

Music Library

The music collection contains books on Jewish music and over 4,000 sound recordings (records, tapes, and compact discs). There is also an extensive collection of printed music, including hazzanut (cantorial music), Yiddish sheet music, and cantorial music manuscripts.

There is a Yamaha Clavinova (an electric piano) available for Library users who wish to play music; it does not circulate.

Located on the second floor.

The Audio-Visual Center

The Audio-Visual Center (AV Center) contains a collection of nonprint materials, including microform, videos, and sound recordings. The AV Center equipment includes microfilm and microfiche readers, multisystem VCRs for US (NTSC) and European (PAL and SECAM) formats, CD players, DVD players, cassette players, record players, and a reel-to-reel tape deck.

Located on the second floor.

The Elias J. Bickerman Collection (EJB)

The Elias J. Bickerman and Morton Smith Collection contains material pertaining to the study of Judaism and Christianity during the Greco-Roman period.

Located on the second floor.

The Goldman-Marx-Ginzberg Collection (GMG)

The Goldman-Marx-Ginzberg Collection contains books and periodicals published prior to 1953 in a range of subjects, with a focus on rabbinics and Jewish history.

Located on the second floor.

The Leff Reading Room

The Leff Reading Room contains a selection of basic reference works for rabbinic studies. This area is set aside for study groups.

Located on the third floor.

The Dr. Bernard Heller Reading Center

The Dr. Bernard Heller Reading Center provides dedicated space for individual study and reading. The center provides convenient access to most of The Library's open stacks.

Located on the third floor.

back to top

---

How to Find Materials

• Stack Locations
• Periodicals
• Designated Locations
• Materials in the Special Collections
• Manuscripts
  • Rare Printed Books
  • Archival Material
  • Broadsides
  • Jewish Art Material

Stack Locations

Books are located in The Library as follows:

Books are shelved by call numbers. Periodicals are shelved in alphabetical order, A to Z and Aleph to Tav.

Certain categories of library material are not listed in either the online or card catalogs. They include microfilm and some materials from the Special Collections. A translation table of standard catalog microfilm numbers to our local reel number is available in the Audio-Visual Center.

back to top of section

Periodicals

Periodicals are shelved on the second floor of The Library. All periodicals are shelved alphabetically by character set (Latin and Hebrew). Please note: initial articles are dropped in the alphabetizing of periodicals. For example: L'Alliance . . . is filed under A and The Journal of . . . is filed under J.

• Current periodicals are located near the entrance to The Library.
• Bound periodicals are located in stacks adjacent to the circulation desk.
• Current education periodicals are in the Education Resource Center (ERC); bound education periodicals are located next to the ERC.
• Newspapers are located on the wall next to the photocopy center.
• Current Hebrew-language newspapers are at the circulation desk.
• Current English-language newspapers are located on the newspaper rack under the staircase.
• Periodicals on microform must be paged at the circulation desk.

Search Aleph for current periodicals.

Periodicals on microform can be viewed in the Audio-Visual Center.

E-periodicals can be accessed via our E-content page.

Periodicals do not circulate. Photoreproduction of periodical articles is permitted only to the extent allowed by law.

back to top of section

Designated Locations

Beyond the collection found in the regular stacks, many items have special locations as follows:

back to top of section

Materials in the Special Collections

Most materials in the special collections are cataloged in Aleph. Many of these items do not have Library of Congress classification numbers. They are given in-house identification symbols. These numbers are searched by the code SCN (special call number).

back to top of section

Manuscripts

All manuscripts are cataloged in Aleph. In addition, there are a number of printed guides for specific collections of manuscripts, as follows:

• Lutzki Catalog, located in the Special Collections Reading Room (SRR), describes biblical manuscripts. Lutzki catalog numbers are preceded by an L.
• The Brumer Catalog of Rabbinic Manuscripts is available in the SRR. An alphabetical author-title index to the Brumer Catalog is found in the SRR card catalog. Brumer Catalog numbers are preceded by an R.
• Catalog of Hebrew Manuscripts in the Collection of E. N. Adler (Cambridge, 1921), pages 69–154. The catalog is available in the SRR. Adler Catalog numbers are preceded by the letters ENA.
• Genizah fragments from the Schechter, Krengel, and E. N. Adler New Series should be requested by collection and number.

Guides to the microfilmed manuscripts which were prepared by University Microfilms International (UMI) are available. These reel guides are used for locating manuscripts on microfilm reels and for ordering copies from UMI.

Rare Printed Books

Rare books, miniature books (not higher than sixteen centimeters), limited editions, and other books that are deemed rare, are kept in the stacks of the Rare Book Room on the fifth floor of the library.

Incunabula (Books Printed Before 1501)

For Hebrew incunabula, consult A Reel Guide to Hebrew Incunabula found in The Jewish Theological Seminary. For manuscripts and books, consult the University Microfilm Reel Guides (REF Z 240 J4). Copies are located in the SRR, the Microform Center, or in the Reference Collection on the second floor.

Please request Hebrew incunabula by the number appearing in the reel guide. For non-Hebrew incunabula, consult the preliminary index to the non-Hebrew incunabula, located in the card catalog in the SRR.

Books Printed Before 1801

Most rare books are cataloged in Aleph.

In addition, be sure to consult the general catalog and the old card catalog on the second floor of the library.

In the old card catalog, in many cases, the letter symbols are accompanied by an asterisk (*) indicating that the book is in the Rare Book Room. Please include the asterisk on your request slip.

Books Printed Between 1801–1840

These books must be paged at the circulation desk on the second floor and read in a specially designated area.

Archival Material

Access to the archives is available in preliminary lists of our major archival holdings available in the SRR and An Inventory to the French Jewish Communities Record Group (1648–1946). A database of the actual collection is available.

The card catalog in the SRR contains some indexes to parts of the archival collections. Additionally, over 100 archival collections are cataloged and available online.

For assistance in locating particular archives send us an email.

Broadsides

Many of the four thousand broadsides have been cataloged and can be located by searching Aleph. Our collection includes:

• Kabbalistic material
• Social, communal, and historical documents
• Greeting and invitations
• Educational materials and diplomas
• Legal documents
• Genealogical tables
• Poems and prayers
• Maps
• Mizrah
• Calendars
• Americana
• Micrography
• Festival decorations
• Posters

For access see the special collections librarian.

Jewish Art Collection

To locate catalog records of Jewish art from our ketubbot, megillot, postcard, bookplate, and print collections, browse Aleph by special call number as follows:

Example: type KET to browse records from the JTS Ketubbah Collection.

back to top of section

---

History

It all began many years ago with contributions from outstanding private collectors and philanthropists, including Cyrus Adler, Mortimer L. Schiff, Felix Warburg, Louis Marshall, Mayer Sulzberger, Elkan Nathan Adler, and Hyman G. Enelow, whose great collections formed the nucleus of The Library at its founding in 1893. Alexander Marx, who served as chief librarian for fifty years (1903–1953), was responsible in large part for collecting the material and making it available to readers. His devoted leadership created what is recognized today as the greatest Jewish library in the Western Hemisphere. Recognizing that European Jewry was declining and that America offered Jews and Judaism a place to grow, in the early 1930s The Library made its goal to be the National Museum of the Jewish Book. It adopted a policy of collecting and preserving the totality of the Jewish cultural experience and making it accessible by means of an open-door policy.

The Library suffered a disastrous fire on April 18, 1966. The fire occurred on the upper floors of the Library tower, where most of the books were housed. Seventy thousand volumes were destroyed, and every other book in the tower was damaged by fire, smoke, or water. Fortunately, rare books and manuscripts were kept in another area and were spared the damage. Despite this disaster, service to readers was resumed in September 1966. A temporary, prefabricated building was erected to hold some of the books, while others were housed in a warehouse at a distance from the campus. The staff struggled in these improvised quarters until July 5, 1983, when a new building was completed and opened to the public.

The new facility has shelving for half a million books and seating for three hundred readers. Seats and study areas may be found in reading rooms, study carrels, and lounges. The Library is equipped with an audio and microform center, music and audio-visual centers, and a special reading room for users of the rare book and manuscript collections. The Library has on its premises a working, professionally equipped conservation/preservation laboratory, and an exhibition space showcasing treasures from The Library's holdings. The Library is served by a staff of thirty-five people and is a member of several national and international consortia.

back to top

---

Contact Us

Email

• General Information
• Archives
• Music Archives
• Circulation Department
• Reference Desk

The Library Phone Numbers

• General Information: (212) 678-8082
• Acquisitions Department: (212) 678-8079
• Administrative Librarian, Public Services: (212) 678-8970
• Administrative Librarian, Technical Services: (212) 678-8093
• Archives: (212) 280-6011
• Cataloging Department: (212) 678-8092
• Circulation Desk: (212) 678-8082
• Conservation Lab: (212) 678-8913
• Fax Machines: (212) 678-8998, (212) 678-8891
• Gifts: (212) 678-8076
• Interlibrary Loans: (212) 678-8963
• Jewish Art Collection: (212) 678-8975
• Librarian: (212) 678-8075
• Librarian, Special Collections: (212) 678-8973
• Library Membership and Sales: (212) 678-8962
• Library Office: (212) 678-8075
• Music and Microforms Collections: (212) 678-8836
• Reference Desk: (212) 678-8081
• Special Reading Room: (212) 678-8077
• Systems Office: (212) 280-6031

back to top

---

The Library Staff

Administration

• David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian
• Naomi M. Steinberger, Director of Library Services
• Hector Guzman, Executive Assistant

Public Services

• Rena Borow, Administrative Librarian for Public Services
• Ina Rubin Cohen, Public Services Librarian
• Jeremy Meyerowitz, Public Services Librarian
• Cory Rockliff, Public Services Librarian
• Rina Krautwirth, Circulation Desk Supervisor
• Joanna Newman, Circulation Desk Supervisor

Special Collections

• Jerry Schwarzbard, Henry R. and Miriam Ripps Schnitzer Librarian for Special Collections
• Sarah Diamant, Administrative Librarian for Special Collections
• Amy Armstrong, Conservator
• Eliott Kahn, Music Archivist
• Ellen Kastel, Archivist
• Sharon Liberman Mintz, Curator of Jewish Art
• David Sclar, Library Specialist, Jewish Art and Special Collections
• Jay Rovner, Manuscript Bibliographer
• Nellie Stavisky, Conservation Consultant

Systems Office

• Stanislav Pejša, Systems and Digitization Librarian 

Technical Services

• Sara Spiegel, Administrative Librarian for Technical Services
• Harriet Atik, Senior Cataloger and Copy Cataloging Supervisor
• Felix Blank, Goldsmith Technical Services Clerk
• Anna Dukhovny, Technical Services Clerk
• Sofia Kantarzhi, Library Clerk
• Toby Krausz, Metadata Librarian
• Rita Lifton, Senior Cataloger
• Sol Majersdorf, Copy Cataloger
• Clifford B. Miller, Senior Cataloger
• Elena Milkova, Technical Services Clerk
• David Moore, Serials Librarian
• Micha F. Oppenheim, Bibliographic Control Consultant
• Lisa Rohde, Goldsmith Copy Cataloger
• Leah Schechter Bennett, Acquisitions Librarian

back to top

---

The Library Advisory Board

• Dorothy Tapper Goldman, Chair
• Beverly Baker
• Donna Sommer Batkin
• Sandford L. Batkin
• Joan Brodsky
• Marilyn Cohen
• Shelley Cohen
• Judy Craig
• Ruth O. Freedlander
• Ruth Hendel
• Harry Laufer
• Marvin Levitties
• Adele Lobel
• Pamela Newman
• Letty Cottin Pogrebin
• Jonathan Rosen
• Joseph Rubin
• Stanley Sanders
• James L. Schlesinger
• Arnon Siegel
• Beatrice Weidman
• Carole L. Weidman

back to top