The Iraqi Jewish Archive

FAIN: PI-50022-06

Center for Jewish History (New York, NY 10011-6301)
Robert Sink (Project Director: June 2005 to May 2010)
Laura E. Leone (Project Director: May 2010 to October 2010)

The creation of an item-level collection assessment and inventory database of books and documents in Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, and Arabic that provide evidence of the history and culture of the Jewish community in Iraq since 762 BCE. A sample of the variety of paper-based materials in the archives would be conserved as a testbed for a future phase of the project.

The Center for Jewish History is seeking funding for a project to ensure the preservation and accessibility of the recently discovered Iraqi Jewish Archive. With more than 500,000 volumes and 100 million documents and artifacts on its campus and access to myriad catalog entries related to archives of the Jewish community, the Center for Jewish History is well poised to oversee the following activities: Creation of an inventory database to document the Archive’s contents; Photograph digitally title pages so that the items can be catalogued; Assure a basic item level conservation assessment by experts in the field; and preserve a small number of items in the archive to demonstrate the feasibility of conserving the entire archive.