local
Association of
Jewish Libraries to
Host Conference
at Weitzman
J SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
ewish librarians are more than
just little old ladies with tight
buns and eyeglasses. And being
a librarian is more than just fetching a
dusty book from a shelf.

Library and information science is a
multidisciplinary fi eld, incorporating
books, archives, technology and multi-
media, preserving it and making it more
accessible to those who need it.

For Jewish media, such as ancient texts
and historical objects that have survived
antisemitic attacks and centuries of wear
and tear, fi nding a steward for those
objects and information is crucial.

Jewish librarians are the champi-
ons of that eff ort. As the “people of the
book,” those librarians, as part of the
Association of Jewish Libraries, come
together every year to learn from one
another about how to do their jobs better.

On June 27-29, AJL will host its 2022
conference, with the theme “together
again,” in Philadelphia at the Weitzman
National Museum of American Jewish
History. It will be the organization’s fi rst
in-person conference since 2019.

“Th e AJL conference is like the oppor-
tunity to be in an entire room of people
who all do the same thing that you
do, and to be able to problem solve
and troubleshoot, brainstorm and get
ideas from people,” said Rachel Kamin,
national conference chair of the AJL
Conference Committee and a librarian
at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in
Highland Park, Illinois.

Th e committee expects more than 200
conference attendees; there are 23 ses-
sions planned with more than 60 pre-
senters. Over the past two years, libraries, like
every other institution, have weathered
the pandemic. For librarians, this meant
fi nding new technologies to use and
being creative in getting books to people.

In the early days of the pandemic,
Kamin set up a way to deliver books to
congregants. Th ey would call with book
requests, and Kamin would drive to their
house when the book arrived.

Gail Shirazi, an Israel and Judaica
librarian in the Asian and Middle Eastern
Division of the Library of Congress,
believes that COVID was a mixed bless-
ing for libraries. Th ough many shuttered,
it gave others, such as the Library of
Congress, the opportunity to prioritize
and digitize resources.

“[COVID] expanded the need for e-re-
sources, and the library is really making
every eff ort, full speed ahead, to acquire
the e-resources database,” Shirazi said.

While some librarians were able to
share their pandemic-induced innova-
tions virtually at the 2020 and 2021 con-
ferences, the virtual space doesn’t allow
for the same in-between moments that
generate connections and new ideas.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how
many of these little ephemeral conversa-
tions have led to really big projects,” said
Michelle Margolis, AJL vice president/
president-elect. Margolis, the Norman E. Alexander
Librarian for Jewish Studies at Columbia
University, enjoys the conference’s ability
to mesh groups. As a university librar-
ian, she can commiserate with the high
school librarians about gaps in knowl-
edge and skills in matriculating students,
so high school librarians can better
design curricula.

Th e organization’s focus on Jewish
librarians sets it apart from larger library
association missions.

Jewish libraries have a unique set
of challenges, said Sean Boyle, librar-
ian at Congregation Keneseth Israel in
Allentown. “Secular libraries do not worry or
know how to determine if a damaged
resource needs to be placed in a genizah
(synagogue repository) or not,” Boyle
said. “Nor do they know what are the
best Jewish young adult LGBTQ+ books
AJL conference attendees at the 2019 conference, the last time the
organization met in person
Courtesy of Association of Jewish Libraries
to purchase to build up a collection that
may currently have zero.”
Libraries are the foundation of many
Jewish institutions, used by more than
just an individual looking to check out
a book. Just as much of Jewish thought
comes from the written word, Kamin
said, much of Jewish life comes from
access to Jewish resources.

“Th e library supports the preschool;
the library supports religious education;
the library supports the clergy, the rit-
ual committee, the ritual director, the
Sisterhood,” Kamin said. “Every depart-
ment relies on the library as kind of that
central hub.” JE
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