The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) is an international organization dedicated to the production, collection, organization and dissemination of Judaic resources and

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

/media/information service. AJL has members in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and over 22 other countries. It was formed through a merger of two organizations: The Jewish Librarians Association, founded in 1946, which concerned itself with collections of Judaica in academic, archival or research institutions, and The Jewish Library Association, founded in 1962, which concerned itself with collections in the synagogue, school and community, as well as other smaller libraries and media centers. The organization has various professional development opportunities, including library training webinars and workshops, mentoring programs and continuing education opportunities. Scholarships are available to members who wish to pursue studies in Judaica and Hebraica librarianship.

Publications

The Association of Jewish Libraries publishes several serials including a scholarly journa
''Judaica Librarianship''
and the electronic quarterlie
''AJL News'' and ''AJL Reviews''
AJL also has an electronic mailing list calle
Hasafran
(Hebrew for ''the librarian''). In 2014
''Judaica Librarianship''
became an online journal. Back issues are freely available 12 months after the publication date. The journal seeks to publish research articles and essays related to the development and management of Judaica collections in all types of libraries and archives, the initiation and coordination of digital curation projects, the creation and dissemination of information resources in all formats, and the promotion of Jewish information literacy for diverse audiences through various outreach activities.

Awards

The Association of Jewish Libraries awards the

Sydney Taylor Book Award The Sydney Taylor Book Award recognizes the best in Jewish children's literature. Medals are awarded annually for outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience. The award was established in 1968 by the Association of Jewish L ...

annually for books that authentically portray the Jewish experience in children's literature, th
Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award
for the most promising unpublished Judaic manuscript for children and th
AJL Jewish Fiction Award
for works of fiction for adult readers with significant Jewish thematic content. The Association also awards th
Judaica Reference and Bibliography Awards
for outstanding scholarly reference works and bibliographies.

Conferences

The AJL Conference, held annually, is a valuable way for Judaica

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

s to share ideas, learn, and network with their peers.

Locations of past conferences

References

External links

Official website of the Association of Jewish LibrariesSydney Taylor Book Award WinnersSydney Taylor Manuscript Award WinnersReference and Bibliography Award Winners
{{Authority control Library associations Jewish educational organizations