I. Program Information

II. Collection Description

The combined collections of the University library system, including the library of the Center for Judaic Studies (CJS), comprise a source of exceptional richness for Jewish Studies, in general, and for the thought and literature of Judaism (Judaic Stdies) in particular.

Because of the multidisciplinary nature of Jewish and Judaic Studies, this policy, which applies to the campus libraries only, will necessarily overlap in coverage with those of other subjects.

The Library seeks to develop Jewish Studies collections on campus and the Jewish Studies collection at CJS in complementary ways. In general terms the campus libraries are especially strong in and responsible for Jewish Studies in the modern period (i.e. ca. 1800 to the present), general materials on Jewish Studies of all periods which support undergraduate and some graduate study, and the major contexts of Jewish Studies, especially the ancient Near East (including ancient languages), the Greco-Roman world, early and medieval Christianity, the Islamic world, Semitic linguistics and modern Europe and America. There is some overlap by design between the campus and CJS collections in Biblical Studies. In post-Biblical (but pre-modern) Hebrew literature the general policy is for Van Pelt to acquire basic works in English and works needed to support undergraduate study, and for the CJS Library to acquire the specialized materials needed to support graduate study and research.

The Van Pelt collection is especially strong in modern Hebrew literature. Van Pelt also maintains a Judaica/Ancient Near East Seminar Room (on the fourth floor) for heavily used materials in Judaic Studies, including Biblical Studies, and ancient Near Eastern culture. The Henry Charles Lea Collection (Special Collections on the sixth floor) is a rich source for materials on Jews and the Inquisition.

The Library of the University Museum is the major campus repository for works on the anthropology and archaeology of the ancient Near East and the Biblical world, and the Biddle Law Library has a collection on Talmudic law.

The largest component of the University's collection in Jewish Studies can be found at the Center for Judaic Studies. The general collection at CJS comprises approximately 150,000 volumes, but in addition includes rare books, manuscripts and artifacts. The collection is especially strong in Hebraica and in archival collections of American Judaica. In addition to the Fellows of the Center, the CJS collection serves Penn faculty and students who have need of its specialized resources . For bibliographical access to the CJS collection use Franklin, Penn's online catlog.

III. Guidelines for Collection Development

1. Chronological

2. Formats

3. Geographical

4. Language

5. Publication Dates

IV. Principal Sources of Supply and major Selection Tools

V. Subjects Collected and Levels of Collecting

 

Subjects Collected                                        Levels of Collecting      Subject ID
------------------------------------------                --------------------      ----------
Art History                                               3F/3F
 
Folklore/Folklife                                         3F/4F
 
Hebrew Bible and Related Literature                       4F/4F 
     CJS also collects Hebrew Bible and Related Literature at a 4F level
 
Hebrew Language                                           3F/3F
 
Hebrew Literature 
   Medieval/Early Modern                                  3F/3F 
   Modern [Includes both literature and criticism.]       4F/4F
 
Holocaust Studies                                         3F/4F                         PAR137
 
Israel (Modern)                                           3F/3F 
     Van Pelt collects material published in Israel at a 4F level

Jewish History 
   Ancient                                                3F/3F 
   Europe                                                 3F/4F 
   Middle East                                            3F/3F 
   North America                                          3E/4E
 
Jewish Thought (e.g. philosophy, ethics,
   Kabbalah, Hasidism)                                    3F/3F                          PAR12
 
Judaism                                                   3F/3F                     PAR132-135
 
Liturgy                                                   2F/3F                         PAR140
 
Music                                                     3F/3F                         MUS115
 
Rabbinic Studies (Jewish law and customs,
   gaonica, exegesis, responsa)                           3F/3F                     PAR122,125 
     Van Pelt collects major primary sources in the original language and material in English;
     CJS collects in this field at a 4 level, including more specialized primary source
     material and secondary literature in Hebrew. 

Sephardic Languages and Literatures 
   Judeo-Arabic                                           3F/3F 
   Judeo-Persian                                          2F/2F  
   Ladino                                                 3F/3F
 
Social Sciences                                           3F/3F/4F

Yiddish Language and Literature                           3Y/3Y                         LLL263
 
Zionism                                                   3F/3F                         HIS379 
     Van Pelt collects items published in Israel at a 4F level

VI. Subjects Excluded

VII. Cooperative Arrangements and Related Collections