Reference Tools for Religious Studies

The following bibliography lists library resources of possible use to students studying Judaism. The majority of the sources listed here are either located in the Van Pelt Library Reference Area or area available electronically via the Penn Library Web.

For links to additional web resources such as e-journals, comprehensive web sites, and source collections on the web, see Religious Studies: Judaism.

For assistance in using these and the many other reference works available for Religious Studies, please consult the bibliographer for Jewish Studies, Arthur Kiron, or a reference librarian.

Library Catalogs

Franklin uses Library of Congress subject headings. For subject heading, terms see the Library of Congress Subject Headings, located near the reference desk on the first floor of the Van Pelt Library. Also, when looking at Franklin records of interest, chose the "full view" and note the subject headings assigned to these works. Many subjects are subdivided by such standard forms as bibliography, collections, dictionaries, periodicals, or by the names of places. LC Subject Headings must be entered in Franklin without the dashes.

Main Card Catalog. The Main Catalog in Van Pelt Library is now closed. It lists books, journals, and other materials in most campus libraries through 1985. The catalog is arranged in "dictionary" style--that is, with author, title, and subject entries interfiled in a single alphabet.

RLIN/Eureka Bibliographic File - Research Libraries Group Catalog
A bibliographic catalog of over 30 million books, serials, archives and manuscripts, musical scores, visual materials, maps, and data files held in over 100 large research libraries and current cataloging of the Library of Congress and the British Library. Since the catalog is so large, the best method for searching is to use known items such as authors, titles, or Library of Congress subject headings. Use this catalog to identify materials that Penn does not own and request them through Interlibrary Loan.

WorldCat Another large, 30+ million union catalog that includes the holdings of many university, college, and public libraries. Several Philadelphia-area libraries are included in WorldCat.

Library Catalogs Worldwide
A web page with links to the Bibliotheque Nationale and several German institutional or union catalogs.

Guides to the Literature

Starkey, Edward D. Judaism and Christianity: a guide to the reference literature. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1991.

A work which "identifies, describes, evaluates, and compares reference books dealing with Judaism and Christianity, and the Bible of these two religious traditions, published in English through 1988" (Preface). Arrangement is by type of work. Author/Title Index, Subject Index.

[Van Pelt Reference BM 45 S78 1991]

Bibliographies

Schwab, Moise. Index of articles relative to Jewish history and literature published in periodicals, from 1665 to 1900. Augmented ed. New York: Ktav Pub. House, 1972.

Part I is a listing by author of articles in periodicals concerning Jewish history. Part II is an index of subjects and Part III, an index of Hebrew wrods. Parts II and III are handwritten.

[Van Pelt Z 6366 S413]

Shunami, Shlomo. Bibliography of Jewish bibliographies. 2d ed. enl. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1965.

Classified listing of bibliographies. Many Hebrew titles included. Index of Hebrew titles; Index of names and subjects. Accompanied by a supplement.

[Van Pelt Reference DS102.95 .S5 1965; also in Van Pelt]

2000 books and more: an annotated and selected bibliography of Jewish history and thought. Ed. by Jonathan Kaplan. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1983.

Aims to "furnish the educator, the student and the librarian with a basic list of books that are of major importance for the study of Jewish History and the History of Jewish Thought" [Introduction]. International in scope, the work has a classified arrangement within a broader chronological order. Hebrew Preface and Introduction with an Index of names.

[Van Pelt Reference DS 117 K36 1983]

Indexes

ATLA religion database Evanston, Ill: American Theological Library Association.

Contents: Religion index one: periodicals (1949-) -- Religion index two: multi-author works (1960-) -- Index to book reviews in religion (1949-) -- Research in ministry (1981-) -- Methodist reviews index (1818- 1985).

Index to Jewish periodicals. v.1- , June 1963- . Cleveland, 1963- . Semiannual.

An Author and Subject Index to selected English-language journals of general and scholarly interest. Includes book reviews.

[Van Pelt Reference AI3 I522]

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Contemporary Jewish religious thought: original essays on critical concepts, movements, and beliefs. Ed. by Arthur A. Cohen and Paul Mendes-Flohr. New York: Scribner, 1987.

A volume which "represents the plurality of Jewish life" [Preface] in contemporary Jewish religious thought. Essays are generally several pages in length, signed, and include footnotes and bibliographies.

[Van Pelt Reference BM 50 C64 1987]

Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem, Encyclopaedia Judaica. New York: Macmillan, 1972. 16v.

About 25,000 articles discussing issues relating to world Jewry. Most articles are signed with bibliographies. Use of the Index [vol. 1] is necessary.

[Van Pelt Reference DS 102.8 E52; Judaica & Ancient Near East Seminar DS 102.8 E53]

Encyclopaedia of Judaism. Jacob Neusner, Alan J. Avery-Peck, William Scott Green, eds. 3v. Leiden: Brill, 2000.

Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks BM50 .E53 2000

The Jewish encyclopedia, a descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the Jewish people from the earliest times to the present day. Prepared under the direction of Cyrus Adler, et al. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1901-1906. 12v.

The precursor to Encyclopaedia Judaica, useful for scholarly articles.

[Van Pelt Reference DS 102.8 J6; Also Van Pelt]

Directories

The American Jewish yearbook. v.1- , 1899/1900- . Philadelphia: The Jewish publication society of America. Annual.

Contains a review of the year's events relating to Jewish matters plus directory and statistical information.

[Latest issue in Van Pelt Reference E184.J5 A6]

World Jewish directory. Year 2000 millenium ed., rev. and updated, 3rd ed. Toronto, ON, Canada : J.E.S.L. Educational Products, c1999.

Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks DS102.9 .W675 1999; Center for Judaic Studies DS102.9 .W675 1999

Dissertations

Biography

Jewish women in America : an historical encyclopedia. Paula E. Hyman and Deborah Dash Moore, editors. 2v. New York : Routledge, c1998.

[Van Pelt Reference DS115.2 .J49 1998]

Nadell, Pamela Susan. Conservative Judaism in America : a biographical dictionary and sourcebook. New York : Greenwood Press, 1988.

[Van Pelt Reference BM750 .N33 1988]

Reform Judaism in America : a biographical dictionary and sourcebook. Kerry M. Olitzky, Lance J. Sussman, and Malcolm H. Stern, editors. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1993.

[Van Pelt Reference BM750 .R39 1993]

Wigoder, Geoffrey, 1922- . Dictionary of Jewish biography. New York : Simon & Schuster, c1991.

[Van Pelt Reference DS115 .W49 1991]

Atlases

Gilbert, Martin. The Dent atlas of Jewish history. 5th ed. London : J.M. Dent, 1993.

Illustrates through maps "the worldwide Jewish migrations from ancient Mesopotamia to modern Israel" [Preface]. Includes bibliography and index.

[Van Pelt Reference G1030 G46 1993]

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