The Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaicia
News
It has been a busy year for the Price Library of Judaica with one major event (see Events page for the posters), several exhibitions, and the development of new and exciting digital resources.
Rededication
On March 6, 2011, the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida hosted a rededication ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica and to honor a Jacksonville family who established a major endowment fund in support of its collections over 30 years ago.
Price family Torah is officially presented to the library
Real estate developers, Jack and Samuel Price pledged the $400,000 endowment fund in honor of their parents, Isser and Rae Price (z’l), two outstanding members of the Jewish community who had helped establish the Jacksonville Jewish Center in the 1920s. The newly endowed Judaica Library was named for Isser and Rae at a special dedication ceremony held in March 1981 at the University of Florida.
Thirty years later, the rededication event provided an opportunity for the University to thank the Price family for their historic gift and for their ongoing commitment to the Judaica library. The event also enabled the UF libraries to officially accept the donation of a Torah scroll from the Price family and the Beth Shalom Synagogue in Jacksonville.
The scroll was originally purchased by Rae Price in memory of her husband, Isser and given to the Beth Shalom synagogue in Jacksonville one year after its founding. The scroll not only provides another strong connection between the family and the libraries, it is also of historical interest given that it is believed to have been produced in the United States before the Second World War.
Guests arriving to the rededication event on March 6th were welcomed by the Klezmer Katz. The ceremony was opened by the UF President, Dr. Bernard Machen, who outlined the history and significance of the Price Library of Judaica. Following Dr. Machen’s speech, Dean Judith Russell introduced a range of distinguished speakers, including former UF Executive Vice President Harold Hanson, University Librarian Emeritus Robert Singerman, Dean Emeritus and Professor, College of Journalism and Communications Ralph Lowenstein, and Professor and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies Jack Kugelmass.
Closing remarks were delivered by the Libraries’ Development Officer, Samuel Huang, who announced a new endeavor to endow a curatorship for the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica. An endowed curatorship will dramatically increase the funds available to the Judaica library for purchasing resources and will enhance the library’s position as a key institution for Jewish research in the South.
Exhibitions
The Price Library of Judaica hosted two large exhibitions this year. The first was mounted in the Smathers Library Gallery to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Price Library of Judaica and featured treasures from the collection. An online version can be viewed here: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/exhibits/30years. A small complimentary exhibit of archives pertaining to the Judaica library’s history was also mounted in Library West.
A second exhibit was mounted in May 2011 to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month. The display utilized Price Library holdings to focus on the wider theme of Jewish life and culture from around the world. An online version can be seen here: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/exhibits/jewishculture
Other events
As part of the Jewish American Heritage Month celebrations, the Judaica library co-sponsored a talk with the Alachua County Libraries to host Jacksonville author, Stacy Goldring. Stacey read from her acclaimed Holocaust memoir, On Wooden Wheels, which tells the true story of Dutch survivor Carla Nathans Schipper.
The Price Library recently co-sponsored the concert, Composing A Heart for Clarinet, Stories … and Life! The music was composed by Craig D. Ames and the music and stories were performed by Bess de Farber. The Price Library contributed a small display of materials to compliment the personal stories and experiences of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Argentina.
New Digital Collections
The Price Library digital collections are growing rapidly with over 200 items added this year alone. These materials have been well received, resulting in over 62,000 recorded ‘views’ or ‘hits’ to the website. Several sub-collections have also been created, including a Judaica memorial books portal, a Yiddish collection, and a Judaica newspapers collection.
In November 2010, the Price Library was awarded a UF Libraries mini-grant to institute the first phase of a project to preserve and digitize a unique set of Jewish newspapers from around the world. This hidden, uncataloged collection of over 200 newspaper issues was largely amassed by the scholar/collector, Rabbi Leonard C. Mishkin and supplemented by the former librarian, Robert Singerman. The pilot digital collection, mounted in April 2011, comprises 28 anniversary issues of 25 newspaper titles. The newspapers date from 1904 to 1973, with a heavy concentration of publications from the 1930s and 40s– a critical period in the history of 20th century Jewry. They were published in numerous cities around the world with large and significant Jewish populations, and in a range of languages including Dutch, English, German, Hebrew and Yiddish. Many of these newspapers were major daily or weekly editions, with large circulation numbers; most are no longer current; some were disbanded before the Second World War and some merged with other titles. The collection can be viewed online here: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/ianniversary
A second phase of the project to digitize 22 anniversary issues of the legendary American Jewish newspaper, Forverts (Jewish Daily Forward) is in progress.
Upcoming events
The Price Library will be co-sponsoring with the Center for Jewish Studies a talk by the authors, Peter Cole and Adina Hoffman. Adina Hoffman is an award winning biographer and her husband Peter Cole is a highly acclaimed poet and translator; both run a small press, Ibis Editions dedicated to the poetry and prose of the Levant. Hoffman and Cole will read from and talk about their latest book, Sacred Trash: the Lost and Found World of the Cairo Genizah, recently described by Harold Bloom as ‘a small masterpiece’. This event will take place on February 9th, 2012 at the University of Florida Hillel.
