Jewish National and University Library

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The main building of the JNUL in the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University

The "Ardon Windows" in Givat Ram.

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:

Everything published in Israel, in any language
Everything published about Israel, the Land of Israel, Judaism and the Jewish People, in any language in any country in the world
Everything published in Hebrew or in any of the languages of the Jewish Diasporas (such as Yiddish and Ladino).

By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the Jewish National and University Library. In 2001, the law was amended to include audio and video recordings, and other non-print media.^[1]

Some of the library's unique volumes are now available on the world wide web, such the 14th century Nuremberg Mahzor, scanned in 2007.

The Library's collections are the basis for the compilation of the major bibliographical tools in Jewish studies, including: RAMBI - the Index of Articles on Jewish Studies; Kiryat Sefer - the quarterly bibliography of works published in Israel and of Hebraica and Judaica published throughout the world; Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1472-1960.

Among the library's special collections are the personal papers of hundreds of outstanding Jewish figures (including Albert Einstein), the National Sound Archives, the Laor Map Collection and numerous other collections of Hebraica and Judaica. The library also possesses some of Isaac Newton's manuscripts dealing with theological subjects.^[2]

The library's main building is located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem, near the Israel Museum.