Th
Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica
within the University of Florida Libraries
Special & Area Studies Collections
supports the teaching and research missions of th
Center for Jewish Studies
and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. The Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica currently holds over 100,000 circulating volumes. The main library is located on the first floor of Library West. The Judaica special collections are held in th
Judaica Suite
in Smathers Library (East).

History

The core collection of the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica was formed from the private collection of Rabbi Leonard C. Mishkin of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois. At the time of its purchase by the University of Florida in 1977, Mishkin's library was the largest private collection of Judaica and Hebraica in America. This collection covered many different areas of Jewish scholarship in a number of languages but had a particular focus on Jewish periodicals. Mishkin's collection also contained a wide variety of ''

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...

en'', books produced to honor scholars, usually created by the scholarly community. Mishkin collected ''festschrifts'' of all types, including ones about events, rabbis and leaders, and Jewish community members. He also collected ''Yizkor'' books, which celebrate the anniversary of a person's death. For instance, one of Mishkin's ''Yizkor'' books was about a young Jewish girl on Ellis Island. The Mishkin collection of around 35,000 volumes was purchased in part thanks to a

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

(NEH) Challenge Grant - the first ever awarded to a United States Research Library. This major award was matched by the first State of Florida Quality Improvement Funds. Two large collections supplemented and complemented the Mishkin acquisition: Professor Shlomo Marenof's personal collection with its strengths in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

literature (purchased in 1978), and Bernard Morgenstern's bookstore on New York's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

with its copies of major and lesser known

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

works (purchased in 1979). A smaller collection of mostly Ancient

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

ern works and books on the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

was later acquired from Theodor H. Gaster's private library in the 1980s. In 1979, a fund was established to support the development of the Judaica library by Jack and Samuel Price, alumni of the University of Florida. Their gift of $400,000 was the largest single gift ever given to the UF Libraries up to that point, and it was the first time that a special collection in the University Library had been endowed. The Judaica Library was named for their parents, Isser and Rae Price. The library was formally named at a special dedication ceremony in March 1981. The Price Library grew from 45,000 volumes to a collection of over 85,000 thanks to the efforts of its librarian of 30 years, Robert Singerman and his assistants Yael Herbsman, Joy Funk, Carol Bird and Emily Madden. In addition to the "3 M's Collection" (Mishkin, Marenof, and Morgenstern), Singerman continued Mishkin's tradition of festschriften, collecting newspapers and periodicals. By his retirement in 2006, Singerman had collected roughly 200 Jewish newspapers from all over the world, including rare anniversary editions. However, they were unprocessed, stored in binders and boxes with a simple card catalog. After receiving a UF Libraries Mini Grant in 2011, the library worked to digitize its valuable newspaper collection. Initially located in Library East (Smathers Library) and then in Norman Hall from 1995, the Price Library was finally given a permanent home in Library West in 2006. The Library was rededicated 30 years later in 2011. A special collections wing to house the Judaica Library's special collections was opened in 2014. Th
Judaica Suite
was designed by the renowned Florida architect and artist
Kenneth Treister, FAIA
A second historic NEH Challenge Grant was awarded to the George A. Smathers Libraries in 2014 to build an endowment fund that will support the Judaica Library in its efforts to broaden access to Humanities resources relating to the Jewish experience in Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. The fund will sustain the new onlin
Jewish Diaspora Collection
dedicated to providing global access to materials from these areas.

The Judaica Suite

This special collections wing opened on January 19, 2014. Designed by Kenneth Treister, a UF alumni and architect, this wing is filled with his art and furniture as well as his rare chess set collections. The wing is composed of meaningful elements: abstract paintings about creation, a bronze sculpture depicting the parting of the red sea, and quotes from famous Jewish thinkers. Chairs are side by side at tables rather than across from one another, representing the Jewish tradition of studying together. Samuel Price and Charles Price made a large contribution for Samuel's son, Todd Carroll Price, which allowed for lights, art, and furniture.

References

External links

Isser and Rae Price Library of JudaicaJudaica Special Collections Reading Room: the Judaica SuiteIsser and Rae Price Library of Judaica FacebookGhosts in the Pages - tales from the Judaica SuiteIsser and Rae Price Library of Judaica Digital CollectionsThirty Years of the Price Library''Treasures from the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica Online Exhibit''''A Celebration of Jewish Life and Culture Around the World Online Exhibit''''Jewish Jacksonville Online Exhibit''George A. Smathers Libraries"Treasure Trove of Judaica"Price Library of Judaica Forverts Collection"The Gathering Storm" online exhibit from the Price Library of Judaica
{{authority control University and college academic libraries in the United States 1977 establishments in Florida University of Florida

History

The Judaica Suite

References

Further reading

External links