Spertus visit

This fall, Spertus Institute hosted our CATLA Conference.
The following is a recap of what was covered at Spertus:

CATLA Business Meeting:
Motion to appoint Kate Ganski as Vice President was approved.
Motion to increase CATLA dues to accomodate ATLA 2012 expenses was approved.
Motion to offer one $1,000 scholarship for CATLA librarian to attend his/her first ATLA conference in 2009 at St. Louis was approved.

Spertus Tour:
Glenn Ferdmann, Kathy Bloch, and Camille Shotwell took groups of CATLA members on a tour of Asher Library, Archives, and the Conservation Lab.

Overviews were given by:
Gail Goldberg (Asher Library)
Joy Kingsolver (Archives/Special Collections)
Karen Lee (Conservation Lab)

Encyclopaedia Judaica Comparison/Contrast:
Camille Shotwell provided a brief history of EJ, including the Jewish Encyclopedia.

The second edition does not replace the first. They should be used together.
The first edition emphasizes: Holocaust, State of Israel, and centrality of the Jewish community in the United States.
The second edition has many new articles, contributors, entries, illustrations, and
bibliographical listings. Much has happened with Israel since 1972!
The second edition has strengths and weaknesses. One of the main strengths is the online searchable PDFs for those institutions that purchase the online version. Weaknesses include items omitted, misinformation, and data not updated.

Jewish Reference Sources:
Aside from EJ, there are a host of other useful resources available on Jewish Studies. A few that were mentioned by Kathy Bloch and Glenn Ferdmann include:

Encyclopedia of Judaism edited by Jacob Neusner, Alan J. Avery-Peck and William Scott Green. New York: Continuum, 1999. 3 volumes.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, R.J. Zwi Werblowsky, Geoffrey Wigoder, editors in chief. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

RAMBI
Articles on Jewish people and Eretz Israel

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, edited by K. Elliger and W. Rudolph. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelstiftung, 1967.

Encyclopedia of Midrash: Biblical Interpretation in Formative Judaism, edited by Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2005. 2 volumes.

The Mishnah: A New Translation with commentary by Pinhas Kehati. Jerusalem: Eliner Library, Dept. for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora of the World Zionist Organization, 1987- 25 volumes.

The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition: A Reference Guide, Adin Steinsaltz. New York: Random House, 1989.

Chicago Jewish History:
Joy Kingsolver provided a tour of the Archives and discussed a pertinent resource on Chicago Jewish History owned by Asher Library.

Bregstone, Philip P. Chicago and Its Jews: A Cultural History. Chicago: privately published, 1933. Introduction by Julian Mack.

Much thanks to Spertus staff for their presentations and hospitality!

Last Call: Fall CATLA Registration

CATLA Members:

Today is the deadline for registration for the Fall 08 CATLA Conference at Spertus Institute. Please email Lugene lugene.schemper@calvin.edu to let him know you plan to attend!