Building Jewish Libraries into the Future: The Dorot Jewish Division at 125

Librarians, writers, and scholars celebrate the oldest public collection of Jewish research materials in America and its journey into the 21st century.

The Dorot Jewish Division at The New York Public Library is the oldest public collection of Jewish research materials in America. Established in November 1897, it celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Its quarter of a million books, microforms, manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, and ephemera from all over the world compose one of the world's great collections of Hebraica and Judaica. Its central location in New York City and reputation as a hub for research across the spectrum of Jewish studies have made it a crucial destination for generations of scholars, writers, and readers.

Librarians and curators in the Dorot Jewish Division will be joined by scholars and writers from around the country to discuss the history of the Division, and its plans for building the collections for the future, and its continuing centrality to Jewish studies in the 21st century. Featuring:

• Zachary Baker, Reinhard Family Curator Emeritus of Judaica and Hebraica Collections at the Stanford University Libraries
• Michelle Margolis, Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies at Columbia University and the President of the Association of Jewish Libraries
• Maurice Samuels, Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French at Yale University 
• Dr. Lyudmila Sholokhova, Curator of the Dorot Jewish Collection at The New York Public Library
• Magda Teter, Professor of History and Shvidler Chair of Judaic Studies at Fordham University

Find out how the Library is marking this milestone and read about the history of the collection.

To join the event in-person | Please be sure to register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream | A livestream of this event will be available on this NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL's YouTube channel.

The Center for Research in the Humanities welcomes everyone to join the conversation between curators, librarians, and researchers, as they discuss new scholarship and projects, research methods, and the Library's rich collections and resources.

This event is presented in partnership with Fordham University's Center for Jewish Studies.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Zachary M. Baker was the Reinhard Family Curator of Judaica and Hebraica Collections in the Stanford Libraries from 1999 to 2018, and also served as Stanford’s Assistant University Librarian for Collection Development from 2010 to 2017. Previously, he was Head Librarian of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (1987-99). He is a past-President of the Association of Jewish Libraries, and past Board member and officer of the Association for Jewish Studies. He has published numerous articles in professional and scholarly journals. Among these is his recent essay “Freidus, Borokhov, and the Café Royal” (In geveb, 2021).

Michelle Margolis is the Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies at Columbia University and the President of the Association of Jewish Libraries. Michelle is also the co-director of Footprints: Jewish Books Through Time and Place. Her research focuses on the history of the Jewish book and collecting, as well as digital humanities in Jewish Studies.

Maurice Samuels is the Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French at Yale University, where he also directs the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism. He is the author of four books, including most recently The Betrayal of the Duchess: The Scandal that Unmade the Bourbon Monarchy and Made France Modern (Basic Books, 2020). A past recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, he is currently a Cullman Fellow at The New York Public Library, where he is completing a biography of Alfred Dreyfus for the Jewish Lives series at Yale University Press.

Dr. Lyudmila Sholokhova is Curator of the Dorot Jewish Collection at The New York Public Library. She had previously held positions of the Director of the Library and Associate Director for External Relations in Eastern Europe and Russia at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Prior to her coming to the United States in 2001, she was a Research Associate and Librarian at the Judaica Department and Music Division of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

Magda Teter is Professor of History and the Shvidler Chair of Judaic Studies at Fordham University. She is the author of Jews and Heretics in Catholic Poland (2005), Sinners on Trial (2011), Blood Libel (2020), and of dozens of articles in English, Hebrew, Italian, and Polish. Her book Blood Libel won the 2020 National Jewish Book Award, The George L. Mosse Prize from the American Historical Association, and the Ronald Bainton Prize from the Sixteenth Century Society. Her new book Christian Supremacy: Reckoning with the Roots of Antisemitism and Racism is forthcoming from Princeton University Press in 2023. Teter has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Cullman Center at the NYPL, the NEH, and others. She is currently the President of the American Academy of Jewish Research.

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ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.
• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.
• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Livestream

• Captions and a transcript will be provided.
• Media used over the course of the conversation will be accompanied by alt text and/or audio description.
• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

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