What are teens reading these days? Are there any good YA books with Jewish content? How do I build my teen collection? How do I attract teens to my library? What do I do with them once they come? Explore the answers to these questions and more as we discuss current trends in secular and Jewish young adult literature, outreach strategies and opportunities, and ideas for cool teen programs.

Related material at http://www.jeninelillian.com/ and http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/resources/bib_bank/contemporary_fiction_for_teens.pdf

Presented by Jenine Lillian and Rachel Kamin at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

1 hr 00 min 02 sec

Presented by Yitzhak Yudelov, retired Director of the Institute for Hebrew Bibliography at the National Library of Israel, at the AJL Regional Conference, November 3, 2010, at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.

51 min 50 sec

This is a follow-up to Zachary Baker’s presentation at the June 2007 AJL convention where he provided an overview of the Eliasaf Robinson Collection on Tel Aviv. Acquired by Stanford at the end of 2005, the collection includes rare archival documents, ephemera, maps, posters, and photographs, along with several hundred books, pamphlets, and journals devoted to Tel Aviv from its founding in 1909 until Israel declared its independence in 1948. Since 2007, about half of the collection’s monographs and serials, and about 40% of its archival materials have been digitized and are now accessible via the Standford University Libraries’ digital collections website. In this presentation, Zachary will discuss the decision-making process that went into selection of items for digitization, the interactions between different departments that were required in order to make the project succeed, intellectual property issues connected with providing access to digitized collection, and the end product: the multi-faceted Standford website for the Eliasaf Robinson Collection.

Presented by Zachary Baker at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

53 min 30 sec

The presentation analyzes contemporary evangelic apocalyptic fiction with respect to the portrayal of Jews and Judaism. It examines 38 novels published in the United States between 1991 and 2009. These novels, which includes themes of Christian triumphalism, conversion to Christianity, and horrific Jewish suffering in the final days of mankind on earth, are consistent with theological principles of evangelical premillenial dispensationalism in that Jews are seen as apocalyptic agents both in suffering as well as in conversion.

Presentation by Mark Stover at he 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

1 hr 15 min 47 sec

Over time, the University of Maryland Libraries have been aggressively developing their Judaica collections. Through donations and purchases from private individuals and larger institutions, the Libraries have acquired tens of thousands of volumes in this subject area. The growth has far exceeded cataloging capacity, resulting in a significant backlog that is invisible to selectors and patrons alike. In order to make these materials available, catalogers at UM Libraries have developed procedures that make use of in-process records, which have since been applied to other large backlogs. This paper describes the procedures and discusses their advantages and disadvantages.

Presented by Jasmin Nof at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

24 min 05 sec

A discussion of the history of Jewish businessmen in the western United States beginning in the 19th century. The presenter describes how she was able to gather all of this information.

Presented by Julia Eulenberg at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

34 min 41 sec

The use of mobile devices in libraries is an ever-growing area of development. With the advent and broad usage of mobile devices (PDA’s, iPhones, etc.), the demand for and the ability to use these devices in library settings continue to grow. Issues to be addressed include: library policy with regard to mobile devices, ability to use in the Judaica framework (i.e. character support for mobile application or catalog accessed by mobile device, a look at the uses, needs, and desires of university/graduate students with regard to availability of information in mobile format, and a general look at the use of mobile devices in higher education institutions.

Presented by Tina Weiss at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

27 min 08 sec

This session on the Sephardic community of Seattle focuses on what made these people come to Seattle, what they found when they arrived, the community’s first religious leaders, interaction between the two distinct Sephardic groups, and relations between Sephardim and Ashkenazim.

Presented by Cantor Isaac Azose at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

39 min 45 sec

A two-part presentation by Zvi Bernhardt.

1. Yad Vashem Reference and Information Services: On Integrating “Corporate Cutlures” in a Reference Setting

Ten years ago, Yad Vashem combined the reference service units of its library, archive, photo archive, and Hall of Names. This decision stemmed from its commitment to consumer based reference service and a belief that in the digital era, library and archive service are converging. The presentation describes the difficulties in combining the “Corporate Cultures” of the various departments, including the resistance of some staff and administration to the change. It describes the mode of work of the staff and how its self-perception has evolved to mesh more closely with the needs of the public.

2. Yad Vashem Online and Offline

The Yad Vashem Internet presence now includes a wealth of resources, including the Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, photo archive, library catalog, Shoah Resource Center, most of the scholarly articles published by Yad Vashem, and dozens of stories of Righteous among the Nations. Many of the online databases use special thesauri developed in Yad Vashem that allow a user to search any version of a place or personal name and get the same results, even if the names have no phonetic connection (for exampe: Pressburg and Bratislava). In addition, Yad Vashem provides online services to assist the pbulic, including basic research in its collections that are not online, for genealogical and schoarly research, and the Yad Vashem Bar/Bat Mitzvah “twinning” program.

Presented by Zvi Bernhardt at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

1 hr 24 min 33 sec

During the two World Wars, Yiddish theater in Argentina, especially Buenos Aires, constituted a major cultural practice, thanks to the high rate of Yiddish readers in the community. Buenos Aires was considered the capital of Yiddish poetry and literature, compared only to Warsaw, Moscow and New York. This session shows “the golden age” of Yiddish theater in Argentina.

Presented by Rita Saccal at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

25 min 49 sec

Yiddish and Hebrew books were published in Winnipeg beginning in at least 1910 and reaching a peak in the 1940′s. We discuss the history of these books and their authors, as well as their connection to Jewish life in Winnipeg.

Presented by Faith Jones at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

28 min 08 sec

The National Library of Israel is currently going through a renewal process. This lecture describes the stages of this renewal and how we expect to see the NLI in 2020.

Presented by Dr. Aviad Stollman at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

29 min 50 sec

Over the past several years, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum has undertaken vast digitizing projects. More than 10 million pages were involved. This presentation includes descriptions of digitized large collections, problems encountered with storage, access, quality control, and restrictions issues, and plans for the future of the Museum’s archival collections.

Presented by Michlean Amir at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

40 min 31 sec

This presentation discusses the process of appraisal, evaluation, and the relative values of out-of-print and rare Judaica and Hebraica in the marketplace. We review Judaica auctions, online book search engines, and the trade, and address the process of librarians reviewing their own collections to determine the presence of valuable or rare materials and the problems associated with such works.

Presented by Eric Chaim Kline at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

37 min 26 sec

Columbia University’s library has thousands of Hebrew rare books and manuscripts (including several Geniza fragments), primarily from the 12th-19th centuries. This collection was previously unknown to the scholarly community until Columbia recently began cataloging it. This presentation describes the unique nature of the collection, along with some of the cataloging challenges that it presents.

Presented by Yoram Bitton at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

20 min 16 sec

MyHeritage.com, an Israeli hi-tech genealogy company, recently partnered with Beit Hatfutsot (Museum of the Jewish People, Tel Aviv) to help the museum fulfill its main goal of preserving the history of the Jewish people via collection family trees from visitors and students participating in the annual “My Family Story” international competition. With this partnership, the museum has been able to provide individuals with a free state-of-the-art technology tool to help them build and research their family trees and to significantly increase data collected for Beit Hatfutsot database. Learn about this success story, the distribution channels used, the support offered, the goals achieved, and future plans.

Presented by Daniel Horowitz at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle, WA.

44 min 39 sec

AJL’s 2011 Western Regional Conference on Jewish Literature for Children revolved around the theme of graphic litrature. The event was held April 3, 2011 at American Jewish University in Los Angeles, CA.

Featured Speakers:

Sid Jacobson was editor in chief at Harvey Comics, where he created Richie Rich, and was the executive editor at Marvel Comics. His collaborations with illustrator Ernie Colon include the fascinating 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, and the new illustrated biography of Anne Frank entitled, Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography.

William J. Rubin is the executive editor of Nachshon Press and the chief architect of the National Jewish Book Award winner, Homeland: The Illustrated History of the State of Israel.

Barry Deutsch is the 2011 Sydney Taylor Award winner for Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword.

Anastasia Betts is a well-known education professional with an expertise in graphic literature.

1 hr 27 min 52 sec

In this two-part presentation, we offer a virtual tour of AJL’s online presence (including the AJL website, blog, podcast, and Facebook page as well as AJL’s Jewish ValuesFinder database). Then we move beyond AJL to explore other Jewish literary websites, blogs, and podcasts. Our emphasis is on “social media” and how we can interact with these online resources rather than being passive consumers of content.

Presented by Heidi Estrin and Diane Romm at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle.

1 hr 10 min 40 sec

Award-winning author Maggie Anton will speak about the research behind her best-selling Rashi’s Daughters trilogy, set in the household of the great medieval Talmud scholar who had no sons, only daughters. Among the topics she discusses: What was life like for Jewish women in 11th century France? Were Rashi’s daughters really learned? Did they really wear tefillin? Why should a 21st century Jew want to read about Rashi and his daughters anyway?

Presented by Maggie Anton at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

38 min 37 sec

With the new American Girl series, Rebecca Rubin, author Jacqueline Dembar Greene researched Ashkenazi Russian Jewish immigrant life in New York City during the early 1900s. Her picture book, The Secret Shofar of Barcelona, and her classic novels, Out of Many Waters and One Foot Ashore, draw on Sephardic history. Ms. Greene will talk about how the different historical events were turned into fiction for young readers, and how the books introduce readers to Jewish history.

Presented by Jacqueline Dembar Greene at the 2010 AJL Convention in Seattle, WA.

47 min 21 sec