Jewish Studies Resources

The University of Maryland Libraries

The University of Maryland Libraries, the Jewish Studies Librarian, the Louis L. Kaplan Chair for Jewish Studies and the Meyerhoff Center have worked to create a research level collection in Jewish and Israel Studies. We estimate that this collection is approaching 100,000 volumes.  That includes books, journals, very old periodicals, newspapers, music scores, video and audio recordings, microform collections, facsimile copies of historical documents, manuscripts, pamphlets and other publications, a number of them rare or not easily available in the United States, some going back to the 12th century.

Scholars, researchers, teachers and students will find materials on topics pertaining to Jewish religion, Talmudic thought, culture, history, literature, music, philosophy, linguistics, the Holocaust, Yiddish theatre and the State of Israel, just to name a few. The materials come in many languages, including English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Russian, Polish, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. They also were published in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Israel, Russia, Poland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Because of the variety of formats, topics and rarity, these materials are dispersed among McKeldin, the branch libraries, Non-Print Media Center and the Special Collections. 

Libraries provide access to many Jewish studies databases, including RAMBI, Index to Jewish Periodicals and Bar Ilan Responsa. All resources are discoverable through the UMD Libraries website. Students and faculty have access to extensive interlibrary loan services as well.

Yelena Luckert is the Jewish studies librarian. To help you with some of your questions or start on your research, you can also consult the Research Guide for Jewish and Israel Studies.