It’s been a while since we’ve posted about recent additions to the library’s unique collections, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been coming in! Here’s a sampling of some new and exciting additions to the library: In the literary realm, we acquired a polemical manuscript from Italy, a grammatical text formerly owned by S.D. Luzzatto […]
In conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, a new exhibition has been mounted on the third floor of Butler Library (on either side of the circulation desk). The exhibit consists of eight cases. The first case describes the earliest Hebrew classes (taught by Columbia founder Samuel Johnson) through […]
On the website of Columbia’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, under “What we collect,” there’s an intriguing designation: “Printing History and Book Arts.” The description reads: The Book Arts have been a collecting focus of RBML since its inception in 1930. It contains both “books about books,” that is books about paper and other substrates, […]
Save the date! We eagerly await this year’s Norman E. Alexander Celebration of Collections on December 5, which will feature the Inquisition in Bologna, Jews at Barnard in the late 19th century, and a unique story from early modern Prague. For more information and to register, see here. […]
Over the course of the last year, many books in the Norman E. Alexander Library have been repaired through the excellent conservation work of Abigail Slawik and other experts whose expertise was funded through the generosity of multiple donors. Abby’s work has included the repair and rebinding of a 14th century Spanish Hebrew Bible held […]
Noa Tsaushu is a doctoral student of Yiddish Studies at Columbia University, currently working to complete her dissertation titled “Yiddish Art: The Desire for Cohesion among the Soviet-Yiddish Avant-Garde.” She is this year’s recipient of the Joseph Kremen Memorial Fellowship in East European Arts, Music, and Theater at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and […]
One of the most important primary source resources for modern Jewish history is the Jewish Historical Press (JHP) project, hosted by the National Library of Israel. The goal of the project is to digitize and make available Jewish newspapers from around the globe. At present, this freely accessible database provides access to 775 titles from […]
It is a busy time for the Norman E. Alexander Library for Jewish Studies. In addition to our many classes last fall, and new ones coming up in the Spring, we have also been focusing on important acquisitions and processing work to broaden our collections and make them better available. Two student assistants, Jem Hanan […]
This essay was initially printed in the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies’ 2022 Magazine. The full magazine is available here. The Sephardic Jews and their descendants were very proud of their cultural heritage. Wherever they traveled, they brought their culture – and languages – with them to their new homelands. Spanish and Portuguese persisted […]
We are thrilled to announce the annual Alexander Library Celebration of Collections for 2023, which will take place virtually on November 9, 2023 at 12 PM EST. This year’s event will feature the following speakers and topics, and focusing on rare books and manuscripts from Spain, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire, spanning the 14th through […]