Collection Development Policy: Judaic Studies
  • Subject Librarian(s):
    William Monroe (Ancient through Early Modern)
    Holly Snyder (Early Modern through Modern)

  • Departmental Library Representative (DLR):
    Saul Olyan

  • Description of the Academic Program | Home Page
    From the Judaic Studies website: "The Program in Judaic Studies is an undergraduate program, although graduate courses are offered through other departments, notably Religious Studies, which offers a graduate program in Ancient Judaism. The program is interdisciplinary, and includes courses offerings in humanities and the social sciences: Hebrew language and literature, History, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Archeology, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Modern Culture and Media, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies and other disciplines. The program is "devoted to the academic study of Jews and Judaism in all historical and geographic contexts.”



  • Overview of the Collection
    The library’s collections in Judaic Studies have been built chiefly in response to the teaching and research needs of the faculty. As a result, they vary tremendously in strength, according to the interests of past and present faculty, and the changing nature of the program. When the program began, its primary focus was ancient and rabbinic Judaism, but a transformation occurred when new faculty arrived with particular interests in sociological, historical and literary study of modern Judaism, Jewish texts and Jewish cultural life. More recently, ancient and rabbinic Judaism have re-emerged as a major emphasis for graduate study.

    This history is reflected in the library collection, and its varying strengths across the gamut of Judaic Studies.

    A recent assessment (2006), based on the library’s holdings of works cited in the Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies (2002), shows the strongest holdings in the Second Temple and Talmudic period, American Jewish history, mysticism, and modern Jewish society and sociology. [See table of holdings assessment]

    Teaching and research in Judaic Studies are supported mainly by collections classed in BM (Judaism), BS (Bible), DS101-135 (history of Jews in Israel and the diaspora), and PJ (Hebrew language and literature), but much can be found in other subject divisions: B (philosophy), D (History in general and History of European nations), E and F (North American history), H (social sciences), M (music), N (art), etc.



  • General Collecting Guidelines
    The Library makes an effort to collect all significant scholarship in Judaic Studies published in English, modern Hebrew and, to a lesser extent, in European languages (with an emphasis on Western Europe). In the past, much material was purchased in German, but more recent foreign language purchases trend toward materials in modern Hebrew and the Romance Languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian).

    In support of the study of ancient and rabbinic Judaism, primary texts in ancient languages (biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and ancient Greek) are also collected. Materials will be purchased in other languages as necessary and appropriate for maintaining the strengths of the collection. Material in Yiddish is not actively purchased, although the Library does purchase some items in response to direct request and accepts donated Yiddish-language materials that support its general holdings in modern Jewish literature or enhance its specific holdings of Judaica in Special Collections. In addition, the Library purchases secondary works about Yiddish language and literature.

    Materials in Judeo-Spanish (e.g., Judezmo and Ladino) have not been purchased in the past; this constitutes a weakness within the collection that ought to be addressed in the future. There is much overlap in interest between the Program in Judaic Studies and other programs at Brown, especially for the ancient Near East and Mediterranean (Egyptology, Classics, Religious Studies, Archeology of the Ancient World) in which the library has very strong holdings. The Library’s holdings on Latin America constitute an emerging strength, and present another area of overlap with Judaic Studies as to both Jewish history and literature.

  • Detailed Subject Breakdown

  • Specific Collecting Guidelines
    • Language: : English, Hebrew, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, plus biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Ancient Greek.
    • Chronological Span: Ancient to modern.
    • Geographical Range: Global, but concentrating on materials from the Near East, Europe, and the Americas.
    • Types of Material Included: Books, journals. Electronic formats, DVD. Excluded: Textbooks.


  • Areas of Distinction
    Judaism of the biblical and Talmudic periods.

  • Special Collections
    The collections of the John Hay Library hold many items of interest to Judaic Studies, including:

    Early printed books: The Library’s collections of early printed books, including the Annmary Brown Collection of incunabula, hold a few items of interest, including the first edition of the Mivhar ha-peninim (1484), sometimes attributed to Ibn Gabirol, and three early editions of the Epistola contra errores Judaeorum of Samuel Marochitanus.

    Damon Collecton of Occult and Visionary Literature: This collection deals primarily with alchemy, the interpretation of dreams, mysticism, and black magic. It includes a number of works on the Kabbalah.

    Wandering Jew Collection: The gift of W. Easton Louttit, Jr., Class of 1925, this collection includes plays, poems, novels, and stories, and prints, as well as critical, philosophical, and scholarly studies of the archetypical story of the men shut out from the human community and doomed to wander eternally.Possibly the finest accumulation of books on this theme to be found outside the Bibliotheque Nationale. It contains over 1,500 volumes featuring works by Goethe, Schiller, Shelley, Feuchtwanger, Edwin Arlington Robinson and especially Eugene Sue.

    Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays: The Harris Collection includes significant holdings of American Jewish literature in both Yiddish (http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/collections/harris/yalit.html) and English, focusing particularly on American Jewish theatre. Included within the Harris Collection, for example, is an outstanding collection of Yiddish American sheet music (http://brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/exhibits/yiddish/index.html).

    Manuscripts: The Library’s extensive holdings of manuscripts include a number of collections that are pertinent for Judaic Studies. Principal among collections of historical interest are the Papers of Rabbi Baruch Korff, a Providence rabbi who worked to rescue European Jews during the Holocaust, then played a significant role in the founding of the State of Israel, and later rose to prominence in American political circles for his support of Richard Nixon during the Watergate era. For literary study, there are the papers of American Jewish writers S. J. Perelman and Nathaniel West, both of whom were graduates of Brown, as well as manuscripts of poets Jenny Machlowitz Klein and Jesse Sampter, playwright Leon Kobrin, scholars Abraham Chapman and Ismar Ellbogen, and labor activist Sarah Fell-Yellin.

    Starred books: The general collection of rare books at the John Hay Library holds many items of interest for the study of Jewish history and literature, including American Judaica, rare editions of classics in Yiddish and Hebrew literature, ephemera, illustrated books, graphic novels, early Zionism and many other areas.

  • Related Collections
    Brandeis University Library (http://lts.brandeis.edu/research/): An important area resource for Brown University faculty and students is the Brandeis University Library, located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Through both its general and special collections, Brandeis has the strongest holdings in the region for Judaic Studies. Both Brown and Brandeis are members of the Boston Library Consortium, and share resources through expedited borrowing as well as on-site consultation.

    Hebrew College Library (http://hebrewcollege.edu/html/library_1.htm): Located in Newton, Massachusetts, Hebrew College is committed to studying Judaism and Jewish civilization from the perspective of the interplay of the Jewish world and the worlds in which Jewish culture developed; its library collections are concentrate on Jewish religion and culture, and are particularly strong for in the field of Jewish Education.

    American Jewish Historical Society: Although now headquartered at the Center for Jewish History in New York, the American Jewish Historical Society maintains a research library on the campus of Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts. Manuscripts and archival materials pertaining to New England may be found there.

    Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (http://www.brandeis.edu/hirjw/): Located on the campus of Brandeis University, the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute promotes scholarly research and artistic projects that explore the conjunctions of Judaism and gender.

    Jewish Women’s Archive (http://www.jwa.org/): Headquartered in Brookline, Massachusetts, the JWA is at the forefront of efforts to create a digital archive of the achievements of Jewish women.

    New Center for Arts and Culture (http://www.ncacboston.org/): Sponsored by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston, NCAC is devoted to building community and fostering dialogue through the fine and performing arts.