Jewish National and University Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jewish National and University Library is the national library of the State of Israel and is meant to serve as the "National Library of the Jewish People" ([1]). It is located on the campuses of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and serves as the university library as well. Hence its name: "Jewish National and University Library".
The library has well over 5,000,000 volumes. It has, by far, the world's largest collections of Hebraica and Judaica and is the repository of many rare and unique manuscripts, books and artifacts.
The library's mission includes collecting: 1. Everything published in Israel, in any language; 2. Everything published about Israel, the Land of Israel, Judaism and the Jewish People, in any language in any country in the world; 3. Everything published in Hebrew or in any of the languages of the Jewish Diasporas (such as Yiddish and Ladino).
The Library's collections are the basis for the compilation of the major bibliographical tools in Jewish studies, including: 1. RAMBI - the Index of Articles on Jewish Studies; 2. Kiryat Sefer - the quarterly bibliography of works published in Israel and of Hebraica and Judaica published throughout the world; 3. The Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1472-1960.
Among the library's special collections are the personal papers of hundreds of outstanding Jewish persons (including Albert Einstein), the National Sound Archives, the Laor Map Collection and numerous other collections of Hebraica and Judaica.
The library's main building is located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem and is adjacent to the Israel Museum which includes the Shrine of the Book in which many of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other rare biblical manuscripts are displayed.
