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Klau Library
Map
Location3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45220, United States
TypeResearch library
ScopeJudaism, Hebraica, biblical studies
Established1875 (1875)
Branch ofHebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Library System
Branches4
Collection
Size600,000[1]
Other information
Websitehttps://huc.edu/libraries/cincinnati/

Klau Library (Cincinnati) is a Jewish research library on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. It is the oldest and largest of the College-Institute's libraries.

History

The library was founded in 1875 alongside Hebrew Union College by the school's founder, Isaac Mayer Wise. It was known as the Hebrew Union College Library until 1961, when it was renamed in honor of Board of Governors member David Klau.[2][3]

The library began as a collection of textbooks locked in a chest and managed by the janitor of the first Hebrew Union College building in downtown Cincinnati.[4] This collection numbered 103 in 1875. Eventually, a faculty member was assigned as "librarian."[5] In 1878, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations voted to fund book acquisition for the library, and the collection began to grow.[6] The purchase of books was supplemented by donations, like the private library of Rabbi Samuel Adler, which was given to the library upon his death in 1891.[7]

The Bernheim Library Building, the first free-standing building for the Hebrew Union College Library. (1913)

When the College moved to Clifton in 1912, the Bernheim Library Building was built, named for Isaac W. Bernheim of Louisville, Kentucky.[8] This building now houses The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

The Hebrew Union College Library's second building. (2023)

Under the leadership of Adolph S. Oko, the library quicky outgrew this building. In 1925, after Oko returned from Europe with the library and museum collection of S. Hirschstein of Berlin, the College began planning the library's next building.[9]

The building was dedicated on May 31, 1931.[10] The new building became home to the library, and the Bernheim Building housed the Hebrew Union College Museum (now the Cincinnati Skirball Museum).

In 1961, the expanding library moved into its current building, dedicated as the Klau Library on June 3, 1961.[11] The Dalsheimer Rare Book Building was also built to house the rarest and most valuable materials in the collection.

In the 2000s, the building was renovated to accommodate the collection and make room for growth. On November 1, 2009, the renovated Klau Library was dedicated, along with The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Library Pavilion, the library's new atrium.[12] The Dalsheimer Rare Book Building was destroyed, and its collections were moved to the David Ellison Rare Book Room.

Collection

The library holds over 600,000 printed books and thousands of manuscript codices and leaves. The library also offers periodicals, microfilm reels, and sound recordings.[13] The majority of the library's print collection is available in public stacks, and many of the old and rare books are available for use upon request. As a Jewish research library, the collection caters to Biblical and Judaic studies, as well as Yiddish and Modern Hebrew literature.[14]

David Ellison Rare Book Room

The library's rare book room contains over 14,000 books and over 2,500 manuscript codices and leaves.[15] Included in the collection are around 70 Hebrew incunabula and around 73 non-Hebrew incunabula.[16]

Eduard Birnbaum Music Collection

The library holds the musical and liturgical collection of 19th century European scholar and cantor Eduard Birnbaum. The collection contains sheet music, rare book, and other related archival material from the 18th and 19th centuries. Among these are more than 7000 individually cataloged works.[17] It also contains a full liturgical year of handwritten music from his mid-nineteenth century European Ashkenazi Jewish community.[18] Digitization of the collection is in progress.[19]

Kaifeng Manuscripts

The library contains a collection of manuscripts from the Jewish community in Kaifeng, China.[20] The collection contains manuscripts, Torah scrolls, haggadot[21], and a Mandarin/Hebrew siddur. The Klau Library holds and has digitized 59 of the community's 64 known manuscripts (apart from Torah scrolls).[22]

Lucille Klau Carouthers American Jewish Periodical Center

The library began collecting American Jewish periodicals in the early 1900s. This collection of newspapers, magazines, and journals became known as the American Jewish Periodical Center, and in 2009, was renamed in honor of Lucille Klau Carouthers, widow of the library's eponymous patron, David Klau.[23]


Notable personnel

  • Jordan Finkin: Yiddish scholar and translator
  • David Gilner: Director emeritus of HUC-JIR library system; former president of Association of Jewish Libraries and Council of Archives and Research Libraries in Jewish Studies[24]
  • Herbert Zafren: Former director, Historian of early Jewish printing, former president of Council of Archives and Research Libraries in Jewish Studies[25]
  • Adolph S. Oko: Former director, Biographer and Spinoza scholar, library director
  • Michael Wilensky: Medieval Hebrew grammarian


References

  1. ^ "Klau Library HUC Cincinnati". Association of Jewish Libraries. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Bamberger, Zellerbach, Klau and Silberman On Board of HUC-JIR". The American Israelite. 10 Mar 1955. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. ^ "HUC Ordains 14, Dedicates New Library". The American Israelite. 8 June 1961. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Dream Will Be Realized When H. U. C. Library Building Is Dedicated". The American Israelite. 28 May 1931. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  5. ^ Karff, Samuel, ed. (1976). Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion At One Hundred Years. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press. p. 25.
  6. ^ Karff, Samuel, ed. (1976). Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion At One Hundred Years. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press. p. 25.
  7. ^ Karff, Samuel, ed. (1976). Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion At One Hundred Years. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press. p. 25.
  8. ^ "Seventieth Anniversary Supplement: The American Israelite". The American Israelite. 24 July 1924. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  9. ^ "HEBREW UNION COLLEGE ACQUIRES VALUABLE COLLECTION OF JUDAICA". The Jewish Exponent. 12 Mar 1926. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Dream Will Be Realized When H. U. C. Library Building Is Dedicated". The American Israelite. 28 May 1931. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  11. ^ "HUC Ordains 14, Dedicates New Library". The American Israelite. 8 June 1961. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  12. ^ "HUC sets Klau Library dedication for Nov. 1". Cincinnati Business Courier. Oct 26, 2009.
  13. ^ "Klau Library HUC Cincinnati". Association of Jewish Libraries. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Klau Library HUC Cincinnati". Association of Jewish Libraries. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Klau Library HUC Cincinnati". Association of Jewish Libraries. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Klau Library HUC Cincinnati". Association of Jewish Libraries. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  17. ^ Werner, Eric (1943–44). "THE EDUARD BIRNBAUM COLLECTION OF JEWISH MUSIC". Hebrew Union College Annual. 18: 421. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  18. ^ Finkin, Jordan. "Eduard Birnbaum Music Collection". HUC-JIR. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  19. ^ About. Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion https://music.huc.edu/about/. Retrieved 18 May 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ Finkin, Jordan. "Eduard Birnbaum Music Collection". HUC-JIR. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  21. ^ Jackson, Madison. "The Jews of Kaifeng: China's Only Native Jewish Community". My Jewish Learning. 70 Faces Media.
  22. ^ "CHINA". Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Klau Library celebrates 10th anniversary; dedicates periodical center". The American Israelite. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  24. ^ "David Gilner Ph.D." Central Conference of American Rabbis. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  25. ^ Meyer, Michael. "HERBERT C. ZAFREN (1925-2005)". Perspectives on History. American Historical Association. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
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