Association of Jewish Libraries N E W S L E T T E R February/March 2008 Volume XXVII, No. 3 JNUL Officially Becomes The National Library of Israel ELHANAN ADL E R On November 26, 2007, The Knesset enacted the “National Li- assistance of the Yad Hanadiv foundation, which previously brary Law,” transforming the Jewish National and University contributed the buildings of two other state bodies: the Knesset, Library (JNUL) at The Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus and the Supreme Court. The new building will include expanded into the National Library of Israel. reading rooms and state-of-the-art storage facilities, as well as The JNUL was founded in 1892 by the Jerusalem Lodge of a planned Museum of the Book. B’nai B’rith. After the first World War, the library’s ownership The new formal status and the organizational change will was transferred to the World Zionist Organization. With the enable the National Library to expand and to serve as a leader opening of the Hebrew University on the Mount Scopus campus in its scope of activities in Israel, to broaden its links with simi- in 1925, the library was reorganized into the Jewish National and lar bodies in the world, and to increase its resources via the University Library and has been an administrative unit of the government and through contributions from Israel and abroad. Hebrew University ever since. With the founding of the State The law emphasizes the role of the Library in using technology of Israel the JNUL became the de facto national library of Israel. to make its collections accessible to the public. The JNUL has This status was legally recognized in the Israeli legal deposit been a leader in digitization of Judaica over the last eight years. law, requiring two copies of all Israeli publications to be given We hope that with the change in status and expected increase to the JNUL, but the library itself remained part of the Hebrew in funding the new National Library of Israel will be able to University and its collections the property of the university. significantly increase its digital collections and better serve its While the government did supply some special funding, the worldwide user community. JNUL’s primary source of funding was the Hebrew University, and the library’s budget was subject to the university’s financial state and academic priorities. With the passage of the new National Library Law, the JNUL New Copyright Legislation in Israel will cease to be a department of the Hebrew University. The law RIVKA SHV E IKY stipulates a two-stage change of status: first the library will be- come a semi-independent subsidiary for a period of three years, The Knesset (Israeli parliament) recently passed two laws that and then a fully independent body. Even during the interim stage have important implications for preservation in libraries and the library will be governed by a board of directors, manage its archives in Israel. The new copyright law addresses preservation own finances, set its own budget priorities and do its own fund needs in the clause “permitted usages in libraries and archives” raising. Most of the library’s budget will come directly from the for the sake of preservation. This clause includes permission to State, while the Hebrew University will continue to provide part copy copyrighted works of which the library or the archive pos- of the budget (and have minority representation on the library’s sesses a copy, as long as the library or archive does not use the board). preservation copies as extra copies for everyday use. In practi- The library’s new name will be “ha-Sifriyah ha-Le’umit” cal terms, this allows libraries and archives to copy works from (The National Library of Israel). Its mandate is to serve as the obsolete formats to newer ones for preservation purposes. The national library of both Israel and the Jewish People, as well as law also indirectly refers to the preservation of online content, continuing to be a general humanities research library for both by authorizing the minister of education to permit copying of the Hebrew University and other scholars. After the change to certain kinds of works and to determine the terms for public full independence, the government will “own” 50% of the new access to the copied works. national library, the Hebrew University 25%, and the remaining The National Library Law contains a clause that gives the 25% will be allocated to other governmental or public bodies as National Library even more extensive rights to copy copyrighted approved by the government and university. The General As- works for the purpose of preservation. The National Library sembly of the library will be made up of 14 representatives from received the right to copy any publication that is subject to legal the government, the university, scholars from various fields, and deposit but failed to be deposited for any reason. While Internet representatives of the public. sites are not subject to legal deposit in Israel, the new law allows The passage of the new law clears the way for further plan- the National Library to copy Internet sites, and thus enables the ning, already in progress, of a new home for the national library, archiving of the Israeli domain. Public access to the archived either on the campus of the Hebrew University, or elsewhere in Internet sites will be subject to terms and conditions determined Jerusalem. The building will be constructed with the generous by the minister of justice and the minister of education. Association of Jewish Libraries Doris Orenstein P.O. Box 1118 President’s Message Teaneck, NJ 07666 LAUR E L WOLF S ON 212-725-5359, [email protected] Memorial Fund YE L E NA LUCK E RT The AJL Newsletter (Irene Levin- While working on a d’var Torah based on the Exodus from Wixman z”l, founding editor) is published quarterly by the Egypt for the AJL midwinter meeting, I was struck by the coin- The Doris Orenstein Memo- Association of Jewish Libraries cidence of forty-odd years of development and maturation for rial Fund provides stipends to inform members about associa- tion activities and issues related AJL. The association has responded to the changing needs of for AJL members to attend to Judaica libraries. Receipt of the our members and developing technology. Our libraries and our their first AJL Convention. newsletter is one of the benefits of membership. Annual dues are $50 jobs as librarians are threatened by some of these developments, Please consider giving to this for individuals or institutions. and it is our responsibility to value and support the libraries good cause. Send your check and librarians dedicated to providing access to, maintaining, to: Doris Orenstein Memo- Please send requests for member- ship and dues information to: and transmitting knowledge. For the profession as a whole, rial Fund, c/o Yelena Luckert, Joseph (Yossi) Galron and by extension for AJL, it is now time to evaluate and care- McKeldin Library, University P.O. Box 3816 Columbus, OH 43210 fully consider our mission and goals, and how best to respond of Maryland, College Park, Phone: (614) 292-3362 to those changes. MD 20742. For more informa- Fax: (614) 292-1918 [email protected] A new AJL task force has been charged to examine the current tion, please call 301-879-7035 role and future direction of the Association of Jewish Librar- or e-mail [email protected]. Send adult books for review to: ies. The task force was conceived in response to the Hasafran Daniel Scheide S.E. Wimberly Library discussion and concern about curtailed service and shortened Recent donations: Florida Atlantic University hours, staff layoffs, and library closings. A preliminary report is • In memory of Frances 777 Glades Road Boca Raton , FL 33431-6424 expected at the general membership meeting at the convention Amitay Abramson, by the 561-297-0519 in Cleveland, June 22-25, 2008. I hope to see you there. members of AJL Capital [email protected] Area Chapter Adult Review Editor • In honor of Helen Tuch- Merrily F. Hart man’s retirement, by Siegal College of Judaic Studies 26500 Shaker Blvd. George and Diane Rauch- Beachwood, OH 44122 werger [email protected] • In honor of Barbara Rosen, Children and YA Review Editors New Slate of Officers for AJL’s Board by Elliot H. Gertel and Ja- Linda Silver & Anne Dublin [email protected] The nominating committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries mie R. Morris. [email protected] is pleased to present the candidates for the national board for • In honor of the birth of 2008-2010. Nominees for divisional officers are submitted by the Debbie Stern’s grandchild, General Editor Libby White RAS and SSC divisions. To nominate a write-in candidate, you by Libby White Joseph Meyerhoff Library must obtain written permission from the candidate and sup- Baltimore Hebrew University 5800 Park Heights Ave. porting signatures from five AJL members. Send nominations to To apply for a scholarship, Baltimore, MD 21215 Ronda Rose ([email protected]) or fax : 323-650-8414. write a letter of 500 words 410-578-6909 [email protected] or fewer, giving your educa- The AJL slate of officers for 2008-2010 is as follows. tional background, facts about Copy Editing and Page Layout AJL chapters in your area, Nancy Sack [email protected] President Susan Dubin and the reasons you would Vice-president/president-elect David Hirsch like to attend the convention. Advertising Rates 1 1 Vice-president for membership Laurie Haas The letter should include how Full page $150 7 /2 x 9 /2 5 1 Half-page (vert) 80 3 /8 x 9 /2 Vice-president for publications Deborah Stern long you have been employed 1 3 Half-page (horiz) 80 7 /2 x 4 /4 5 3 Recording secretary Elana Gensler in Judaic libraryand what part Quarter-page 50 3 /8 x 4 /4 Corresponding secretary Rachel Glasser of the cost your institution All ads must be prepaid.