Repositioning Florida's Judaic Library: Increasing Access to Humanities Resources from Florida, Latin America, and the Caribb

FAIN: CH-51229-15

University of Florida (Gainesville, FL 32611-0001)
Rebecca J. Jefferson (Project Director: May 2014 to present)

Endowment for library staff, acquisitions, public and scholarly outreach activities, and digitization projects related to the Jewish experience in Florida, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida (UF) requests NEH support of $500,000 to match $1.5 million to be raised in the next four years to endow acquisitions, public and scholarly outreach activities, and collaborative digitization projects related to the Jewish experience in Florida, Latin America, and the Caribbean. With the Price Library of Judaica as its foundation, UF is uniquely qualified to lead a national and international effort to inspire greater study of the Jewish diaspora.The expanded and enhanced Judaica collections and services will be the foundation for the American portal of Florida, Latin American, and Caribbean Jewry, and will emphasize the importance of scholarship, preservation, and access to these exceptional resources.

Media Coverage

UF's Price Library of Judaica houses priceless pieces of local and international artifacts (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Matt Franzblau
Publication: Jacksonville Jewish News
Date: 11/1/2017
Abstract: Describes the Price Library and its materials and the NEH Challenge Grant
URL: https://issuu.com/jewishnews/docs/jjn_nov_2017_front_page

Library of Judaica at the University of Florida (Media Coverage)
Publication: Shalom Show on TV
Date: 4/18/2017
Abstract: Dr. Rebecca Jefferson is the Curator of the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica at the University of Florida. She is interviewed here by Richard Peritz, for the Shalom Show on ABC TV-25 in Palm Beach Florida and on cable networks nationwide ... Thanks to the Library's reputation for excellence and its many exciting outreach initiatives, it was awarded a second prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant. The grant will enable the library to build a new endowment fund to support the acquisition and digitization of hidden and endangered Jewish materials from Florida, Latin America, and the Caribbean and thus support vital research in this area.
URL: https://youtu.be/cmKp8G2ZqD4

Associated Products

‘A Collaborative US-Mexican Partnership to Digitize Endangered Mexican Jewish Periodicals’ (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: ‘A Collaborative US-Mexican Partnership to Digitize Endangered Mexican Jewish Periodicals’
Author: Margarita Vargas-Betancourt and Rebecca J. W. Jefferson
Abstract: In 2016, the University of Florida (UF) established an international partnership with the Centro de Documentación e Investigación Judío de México (CDIJUM) in order to engage in joint digital projects. CDIJUM was first established as the Centro de Documentación e Investigación de la Comunidad Ashkenazí (CDICA) in 1990 with a mission to rescue, preserve and provide access to the documents, archives, and books that used to be in the building of the Ashkenazi community. The 1985 earthquake in Mexico City compromised the building, and its holdings were scattered across different store houses of the community. Access was restored in 1993, and in 2009, the center’s holdings were declared a World Heritage collection by UNESCO. On March 9, 2015, the CDICA expanded its mission to hold and preserve the cultural heritage of all the Jewish communities in Mexico, and it changed its name to reflect this broader vision. The new partnership with the UF Libraries (specifically, the Latin American and Caribbean Collection, the Judaica Library and the Digital Library of the Caribbean) began with the digitization of the complete run of the long-running Spanish-language Jewish newspaper, Kesher. Other scarce Mexican Jewish periodicals were also identified for future iterations of the project. However, the devastating earthquake in Mexico City in 2017 has further highlighted the vital need for such projects. Thankfully, the newspapers had all been taken off site for digitization, but meanwhile the CDIJUM building suffered irreparable damage and their precious archives had to be transferred to temporary storage while a new building is constructed. This paper will describe the above collaborative project and why it is critical to preserve these newspapers and documents.
Date: 04/18/2018
Primary URL: https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/IR/00/01/02/64/00001/S18-2018-Vargas-Betancourt-en.pdf
Primary URL Description: Institutional Repository of the University of Florida
Conference Name: 2018 IFLA International News Media Conference, “When Risk becomes Real, Preserving News becomes Critical”

‘Library Collaborative Networks Forging Scholarly Cyberinfrastructure and Radical Collaboration’ (Book Section)
Title: ‘Library Collaborative Networks Forging Scholarly Cyberinfrastructure and Radical Collaboration’
Author: Laurie Taylor
Author: Suzan Alteri
Author: Valrie Minson
Author: Ben Walker
Author: E. Haven Hawley
Author: Chelsea Dinsmore
Author: Rebecca J. W. Jefferson
Editor: Brian Doherty
Abstract: Academic libraries and teaching departments sometimes treat Digital Humanities (DH) as radically new. While DH is radically new in terms of collaborative practices and methods, it is also fundamentally rooted in the humanities and intricately connected to core activities by librarians, especially for collaboration. In this chapter, we explain how the UF Smathers Libraries leveraged the library digital collections—with rich technical features and content, and a robust underlying infrastructure—to create the necessary scholarly cyberinfrastructure to then support the DH community for an environment of radical collaboration. To do so, we show how librarians leveraged the new DH opportunities to fundamentally enrich and improve existing, seemingly more traditional work, including collection development, library scholarly councils, collaboration among libraries for print and digital collections, outreach and instruction, and more.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/library-collaborative-networks-forging-scholarly-cyberinfrastructure-and-radical-collaboration/155408
Access Model: Subscription only
Publisher: IGI Global
Book Title: Technology-Centered Academic Library Partnerships and Collaborations
ISBN: 9781522503231

‘Shared Global Heritage in Research Libraries’ (Book Section)
Title: ‘Shared Global Heritage in Research Libraries’
Author: Margarita Vargas-Betancourt
Author: Elizabeth Haven Hawley
Author: Rebecca J. W. Jefferson
Editor: Yelena Luckert
Editor: Lindsay Inge Carpenter
Abstract: The Latin American and Caribbean Collection, the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica, and the Panama Canal Museum Collection at the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, have been central to digital library projects and innovative instruction at UF, with other institutions, and internationally. The Isser and Rae Price Judaica Library holds internationally distinctive Judaica from the 19th and 20th centuries, with exceptionally rare festschriften, ephemera, and periodicals forming the foundation for the foremost Jewish Studies research collection in the southeastern United States. The Latin American and Caribbean Collection (LACC) traces its pre-eminence to the Farmington Plan and close ties with the renowned Center for Latin America Studies, with exceptional manuscript collections on the Caribbean. The Panama Canal Museum Collection began as a community repository focused largely on American experiences but has been integrated into SASC as an international collection. Each of these collections has been deeply involved in the multi-institutional digital initiatives of the Libraries, which are structured to facilitate participation and sharing of resources by universities, national repositories, and small heritage organizations.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00010662/00001
Primary URL Description: University of Florida Institutional Repository
Secondary URL: https://www.alastore.ala.org/
Secondary URL Description: Book store for ALA
Access Model: Open access (pre-print)
Publisher: ACRL (part of the American Libraries Association or ALA)
Book Title: The Globalized Library: American Academic Libraries and International Students, Collections, and Practices
ISBN: 978-0-8389-895

"Matching Grant Supports Judaica Collection" (Article)
Title: "Matching Grant Supports Judaica Collection"
Author: Steve Orlando
Abstract: Article describing the Judaica Library's NEH Challenge Grant project.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: https://issuu.com/ufexploremagazine/docs/uf_explore_magazine_spring_2015
Access Model: open access
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Explore: Research at the University of Florida
Publisher: University of Florida

Jewish Experiences Across the Americas: Local Histories through Global Lenses (Book)
Title: Jewish Experiences Across the Americas: Local Histories through Global Lenses
Author: Katalin Franciska Rac
Author: Lenny A. Urena
Abstract: This volume explores the local specificities and global forces that shaped Jewish experiences in the Americas across five centuries. Featuring a range of case studies by scholars from the United States, Brazil, Europe, and Israel, it explores the culturally, religiously, and politically diverse lives of Jewish minorities in the Western Hemisphere. The chapters are organized chronologically and trace four global forces: the western expansion of early modern European empires, Jewish networks across and beyond empires, migration, and Jewish activism and participation in international ideological movements. The volume weaves together into one narrative the histories of communities and individuals separated by time and space, such as the descendants of Portuguese converts, Moroccan immigrants to Brazil, and U.S.-based Yiddish movie makers. Through its transnational focus and close attention paid to local circumstances, this volume offers new insights into the multicultural pasts of the Americas’ Jewish populations and of the different regions that make up North, Central, and South America.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9781683402565
Primary URL Description: University Press of Florida website
Access Model: purchase
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9781683402565
Copy sent to NEH?: No

Creating Fundable Grant Proposals: Profiles of Innovative Partnerships (Book)
Title: Creating Fundable Grant Proposals: Profiles of Innovative Partnerships
Author: Bess de Farber
Abstract: Grant money can make all the difference in developing new services, creating worldwide access to your unique collections, or enabling you to showcase awarded projects that advance your career. But competition for grants is as fierce as ever. To get a leg up, you need an insider who will share proven strategies for success. In this book, Bess G. de Farber, who has led the management of 187 awarded grant projects from under $5,000 to more than $1 million at the University of Florida, does just that. Drawing from profiles of 57 grant proposals, sponsored by 31 funders including federal agencies, foundations, and library organizations, her detailed 10-step workflow guides you through submitting and managing collaborative grant proposals.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/creating-fundable-grant-proposals-profiles-innovative-partnerships
Primary URL Description: Website of the ALA editions bookstore
Access Model: purchase
Publisher: ALA Editions
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780838947609
Copy sent to NEH?: No

‘La Biblioteca de Comunidad Hebrea de Cuba Online’ (Article)
Title: ‘La Biblioteca de Comunidad Hebrea de Cuba Online’
Author: Rebecca J. W. Jefferson
Abstract: Describes books included in an NEH Challenge Grant funded project to digitize the synagogue library in Havana, Cuba.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://journals.flvc.org/source/article/view/116819
Primary URL Description: Website for the Source Magazine
Access Model: open access
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Source: the Magazine of the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries
Publisher: Library Press @UF

"José Moskovits’s Survey on Antisemitism and the History of Surveys on the Jewish Question" (Article)
Title: "José Moskovits’s Survey on Antisemitism and the History of Surveys on the Jewish Question"
Author: Katalin Franciska Rac
Abstract: No abstract available
Year: 2017
Primary URL: https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:41986/datastreams/CONTENT/content
Access Model: subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Jewish Studies at the Central European University
Publisher: Central European University

Jewish Diaspora Collection (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Jewish Diaspora Collection
Author: University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries
Abstract: The Jewish Diaspora Collection (JDoC) is a collaborative and cooperative digital library designed to preserve and provide wide access to Jewish heritage materials from Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Jewish Diaspora Collection (JDoc) is being built with the support of a National Endowment for the Humanitiies (NEH) Challenge Grant awarded to the George A. Smathers Libraries in 2014. JDoC also preserves digital copies of materials held in the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: https://ufdc.ufl.edu/collections/judaica
Access Model: Open Access

The Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica at Forty (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica at Forty
Abstract: This special anniversary event features a lecture by Professor Deborah E. Lipstadt, one of the nation’s foremost experts on Holocaust denial and modern antisemitism. Professor Norman J. W. Goda, the Norman and Irma Braman Professor of Holocaust Studies and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Florida responds to Professor Lipstadt’s talk and moderates a question and answer session. The lecture is followed by “Forty Years of the Price Library of Judaica,” a slideshow presented by Rebecca J. W. Jefferson, the Curator of the Price Library. The slideshow includes the history of the collection and its treasures together with audio and video clips sharing memories of the past forty years from the Price family, library patrons, and supporters.
Author: Rebecca J. W. Jefferson
Date: 03/07/2021
Location: Price Library of Judaica
Primary URL: https://youtu.be/hCTllcymdR0?t=4512

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