Research project at the LBI Jerusalem

The highly idiosyncratic collection of the library of the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem takes center stage in this dissertation project. Founded in 1955, the LBI Jerusalem was one of the recipients in the circulation of books organized by the Jewish National and University Library (JNUL). Preliminary observations suggest that the incorporation of the books salvaged in Europe left an unmistakable imprint on the collection of the LBI Jerusalem. This impression is especially striking in the case of the books once owned by the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, because they remind us of the prehistory of the Leo Baeck Institute, resulting in a situation in which the present character of its collection is open to debate: Is it a research library as intended by founders and staff, or rather a manifestation of the early idea of a memorial library to German Jewry? To analyze this intriguing collection, the research project applys an object-based approach which draws on the library’s books and its material traces as primary sources.

Contact
Bettina Farack
Leo Beack Institute Jerusalem