EVA Minerva Conference

Cultural Heritage

Jerusalem 11 November 2014

The National Library of Israel

The prime institute of national memory

for the State of Israel

for Jewish People across the globe.

The Vision - then

In Jerusalem our holy city, shall be built a great house, high and lofty,

in which shall be treasured the fruits of the Jewish People’s endeavor.

May it be that to this house shall stream our masters, sages and all the scholars of our nation

Yosef Chazanovitc (1844-1919)

Newly Defined Roles of NLI

“To collect, preserve,

cultivate and endow the treasures of knowledge,

heritage and culture in general,

with an emphasis on the Land of Israel,

the State of Israel

and the Jewish people, in particular”.

(National Library Law, 2007)

The Vision - now

Becoming Israel’s flagship repository of information

about Israel and the Jewish People.

Offering open access to the world of physical & digital

resources, tools and services.

Maximizing Library's potential in this age of rapid change, with the newest technologies

Historical Jewish PressJPRESS website founded in 2005

Cooperation between Tel Aviv University and the National Library of Israel.

The site contains historical Jewish newspapers that were published in a variety of languages, and in a number of different countries and time-periods.

Broad spectrum of users

The material is available online for free and is fully searchable

Over 1,250,000 pages with OCR

- An average of 20,000 new pages added each month

- 74 different Newspapers

- Newspapers from 15 countries

- 8 different Languages

•

The International Hebrew Manuscripts Project

Global centralized digital access to the complete corpus of existing Hebrew Manuscripts

• Institutional cooperation

• Open access - internet, mobile devices

• Quick and efficient search engine

• Powerful viewer – links to related items

• Personal work environment

• Tool for sharing and cooperation

1892-2014: 124 years of Excellence

Gesher L’EuropaA Bridge to Europe

Creating opportunities for mutually beneficial relationships with Europe

Fulfilling the Library’s mission of Renewal

A three year program working across all divisions of the NLI

Targets diverse audiences in Europe

Funded by Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe

….. CONNECTING PEOPLE

A Bridge to Europe

What is it?∙ Training and mentoring of European Library and Archive Professionals working with

Jewish materials and those preserving Jewish heritage in their communities

Objectives∙ To share the expertise of NLI , develop strategic relationships in Europe, expand

professional networks and increase use of and access to the Library’s collections.

What will happen?∙ 8 participants per year at NLI for 3 weeks immersion and study∙ Follow up and mentoring at home institutions

At the

Source

What is it?∙ Gathering Jewish ephemera in Europe to be integrated into the Library collection

Objectives∙ To promote awareness of the value of Ephemera for preserving our heritage, to

preserve and reflect a ‘slice of life’ from contemporary Jewish Europe.

What will happen?∙ A campaign to generate awareness of the contribution ephemera can make to our

understanding of Jewish life∙ Pilot collection in selected countries and key institutions∙ Selective integrating into NLI collections∙ Prepare material for future digitization, showcase through NLI to countries of origin

Ephemera

What is it?∙ Creation of a Digital Platform for Primary Sources to support formal and informal

Jewish education in Europe.

Objectives∙ To enhance NLI credentials as a leading resource of content and tools for Jewish

education. ∙ To adapt Digital Platform for Primary Sources for an international and informal

educational context and explore new cultural development opportunities

What will happen?∙ NLI Education team will work with Educators in Europe to develop relevant materials ∙ Piloting modules for teacher training in informal and formal education across Europe.∙ NLI resources will be accessible for Jewish educators across Europe

Education

NATIONAL LIBRARY COLLECTIONS

• 5,000,000 books

• 2,000 manuscripts

• 700 personal archives

• 30,000 hours of recordings

• Hundreds of thousandsphotographs,postcards, documents,maps,posters etc…

FORMATS OF PRIMARY SOURCES

ManuscriptsDocumentsPosters

Illustrations Ketubah’s Photographs

Ephemera

Maps

JournalismMusic Video

Postcards

NLI PRIMARY SOURCE CATALOGUE

• Hundreds of open access digital primary sources

• Repository of teaching resources

• Educational activities and games

• on-line, any device, no charge

NLI PRIMARY SOURCE CATALOGUE

WORKSHEETS AND LESSON PLANS

What is it?Yerusha is the RF(H)E’s program for surveying archives and mapping Jewish Libraries in Europe. Yerusha’s database will be integrated into the Israel Archives Network (IAN) , creating a seamless integrated accessible archival system.

Objectives∙ To create a streamlined unified system for integrating Yerusha’s catalogue of European

Jewish history archives into IAN. ∙ To expand the content and materials available via the IAN

What will happen?∙ Yerusha will be granted licenses to access the Ad Lib system. ∙ Pilot data will be transferred to the IAN - leading to the full integration over 2-3 years, using

the same content management system and data storage facilities∙ A stand-alone front-end portal will be developed

Yerusha

What is it?∙ Internships at the NLI arranged through MASA Israel, for graduates and young

professionals to gain valuable work experience.

Objectives∙ To promote NLI and help foster strong connections for young Jewish adults with their

Jewish heritage.∙ To enable young professionals to upgrade their credentials, to benefit from their

knowledge and expertise and establish long term connections

What will happen?∙ Internships will be offered for Library and IT related functions∙ 4 interns, will come to the Library each year to work in their professional areas.

MASA

Gesher L’Europa

Issues to consider

∙ Cooperation with institutions in Europe for sustainable relationships

∙ Geographical focus – diverse contexts and structures

∙ Language – anticipate diverse needs

∙ Cultural differences - implications for delivery and content

∙ Communicating the program

∙ Managing expectations

∙ Planning and integration into Library operations

A Bridge to Europe

Gesher L’Europa

‘The extent to which a small country like Israel is committed to the

preservation and dissemination of knowledge and culture is uplifting and so

true to Jewish values.’

Philip Alexander, University of Manchester