The y e a r s 1 8 7 1 t o 1 9 1 1 were a p e a k p e r i o d o f J e w i s h i m m i g r a t i o n t o Canada and t h e U n i t e d ~ t a t e s , ~ a d i r e c t r e s u l t o f t h e p e r s e c u t i o n s a n d pogroms o f R u s s i a , P o l a n d a n d t h e B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s

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THE HISTORY OF THE MONTREAL JEWISH PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES

E v e l y n M i l l e r

The h i s t o r y o f t h e M o n t r e a l J e w i s h P u b l i c L i b r a r y f a l l s i n t o two p a r t s . The f i r s t h a s t o do w i t h t h e s e v e r a l a t t e m p t s t o f o u n d t h e L i b r a r y , t h e f i n a l s u c c e s s f u l a c h i e v e m e n t o f t h i s g o a l a n d t h e L i b r a r y ' s s u b s e q u e n t h i s t o r y . The s e c o n d c o n c e r n s t h e g r a d u a l , a l m o s t a c c i d e n t a l , a c c u m u l a t i o n o f a r c h i v e s which n e c e s s i t a t e d t h e L i b r a r y B o a r d ' s r e c e n t d e c i s i o n t o i n - a u g u r a t e a n a r c h i v e s program. T h i s program, p r o f e s s i o n a l l y p l a n n e d a n d a d m i n i s t e r e d , w i l l p e r m i t t h e i n c l u s i o n o f t h e L i b r a r y ' s a r c h i v e s w l t h i n a n o v e r a l l s t r u c t u r e o f a f u t u r e J e w i s h Community A r c h i v e s Program.

The J e w i s h P u b l i c L i b r a r y o f f i c i a l l y opened i t s d o o r s on March 3 , 1 9 1 2 . l T h i s o c c a s i o n r e p r e s e n t e d a d o u b l e a c h i e v e m e n l ; i t was t h e f i n a l , s u c c e s s f u l e f f o r t t o f o u n d s u c h a n institution a n d t h e v i s i b l e embodiment o f a l o n g - c h e r i s h e d t r a d i t i o n which t h e L i b r a r y

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s f o u n d e r s had b r o u g h t w i t h them from e a s t e r n E u r o p e .

D u r i n g t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , t h e e m a n c i p a t i o n o f t h e Jews i n C e n t r a l Europe s p a r k e d a n i n t e l l e c t u a l f e r m e n t which moved s l o w l y e a s t w a r d , a n d t h e F o l k B i b l i o t h e k a n d t h e F o l k U n i v e r s i t a e t w e r e two o f i t s m a n i f e s t a - t i o n s . = The l i b r a r i e s , w h i c h w e r e s i m i l a r t o t h e Mechanics

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I n s t i t u t e s o f England a n d A m e r i ~ a , ~ s e r v e d t h e community i n many ways, f o r t h e y p r o - v i d e d n o t o n l y l i b r a r y s e r v i c e s b u t a d u l t e d u c a t i o n programmes a s w e l l .

The y e a r s 1 8 7 1 t o 1 9 1 1 were a p e a k p e r i o d o f J e w i s h i m m i g r a t i o n t o Canada and t h e U n i t e d ~ t a t e s , ~ a d i r e c t r e s u l t o f t h e p e r s e c u t i o n s a n d pogroms o f R u s s i a , P o l a n d a n d t h e B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s . 5 T h e s e e a s t e r n European Jews, warmly e m o t i o n a l a n d Y i d d i s h s p e a k i n g , b e l o n g e d t o t h e A s h k e n a z i o r e a s t e r n b r a n c h o f Jewry; t h e i r c u l t u r e was a f o l k c u l t u r e b a s e d o n a c l o s e l y - k n i t community.

The e a r l i e s t J e w i s h s e t t l e r s , who had a r r i v e d i n Quebec d u r i n g t h e 1 7 6 0 1 s , f o l l o w e d t h e S e p h a r d i c t r a d i t i o n . T h i s t r a d i t i o n , e m a n a t i n g from S p a i n and P o r t u g a l , had moved v i a H o l l a n d a n d E n g l a n d t o N o r t h America and d i f f e r e d m a r k e d l y from t h e A s h k e n a z i c custom.7 The S e p h a r d i c Jews s p o k e t h e l a n g u a g e o f t h e c o u n t r y i n w h i c h t h e y l i v e d and t o o k a n a c t i v e p a r t i n t h e g e n e r a l l i f e o f t h e i r c o m m ~ n i t i e s . ~ T h e i r synagogue s e r v i c e s and s a c r e d m u s i c , which f o l l o w e d t h e p a t t e r n s e t i n p r e - I n q u i s i t i o n S p a i n , were more f o r m a l a s was t h e i r mode o f b e h a v i o u r . Thus, when t h e e a s t e r n European Jews i m m i g r a t e d t o Canada a t t h e e n d o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h and t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r i e s . t h e y f o u n d none o f t h e t r a d i t i o n s and i n s t i t u t i o n s f a m i l i a r t o them. I n many c a s e s , t h e men came t o Canada l o n g b e f o r e t h e i r f a m i l i e s , w o r k i n g t o s a v e t h e f a m i l y p a s s a g e money from t h e i r meagre e a r n i n g s a s Hebrew t e a c h e r s , p e d l a r s , o r w o r k e r s i n t h e c l o t h i n g t r a d e . T h e s e men, l i v i n g i n c o n s t r i c t e d economic c i r c u m s t a n c e s , f e l t k e e n l y t h e l a c k o f m e n t a l s t i m u l a t i o n which t h e F o l k L i b r a r y h a d p r o v i d e d . E v e n t u a l l y , t h e J e w i s h p u b l i c L i b r a r y was t o p r o v i d e s u c h a n i n s t i t u t i o n f o r t h i s idd dish-speaking p o p u l a t i o n .

A s e a r l y a s 1 8 8 8 , a Hebrew l i b r a r y was e s t a b l i s h e d i n M o n t r e a l . T h i s

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v e n t u r e was s h o r t - l i v e d , b u t was f o l l o w e d b y t h e s u c c e s s f u l f o u n d i n g , i n 1900, o f two s m a l l l i b r a r i e s ; o n e b y t h e Z i o n i s t O r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e o t h e r b y t h e Baron d e H i r s c h I n s t i t u t e . Both l i b r a r i e s w e r e o n l y o p e n d u r i n g t h e d a y a n d d i d n o t meet t h e n e e d s o f t h e w o r k i n g p o p u l a t i o n .

I n 1903, a s m a l l d i s c u s s i o n a n d r e a d i n g c i r c l e was formed by a number o f young men,9 members o f t h e ~ o r s h a i Z i o n ~ r o u ~ . l O Because o f cramped q u a r t e r s , t h e y b r o u g h t r e a d i n g m a t e r i a l from t h e i r homes t o e a c h m e e t i n g , c a r r y i n g t h e books and p a m p h l e t s b a c k a g a i n a t t h e e n d o f t h e e v e n i n g . One y o u t h l a t e r d o n a t e d t w e l v e d o l l a r s , h i s w e e k ' s s a l a r y , t o p u r c h a s e a book- c a s e . S u b s e q u e n t l y , t h i s g r o u p moved t o l a r g e r q u a r t e r s , b u t d i s s o l v e d s e v e r a l y e a r s l a t e r and tk books w e r e s t o r e d i n t h e home o f a f o r m e r member.

The P a o l e Zion O r g a n i z a t ~ o n l l a l s o had e s t a b l i s h e d a l i b r a r y i n 1903 w h i c h , w i t h i n a few y e a r s , had o u t g r o w n i t s p r e m i s e s . I n 1912 t h i s Organ-

i z a t i o n c a l l e d a c o n v e n t i o n o f t h e Jewish Labour A s s o c i a t i o n s , i 2 many o f which were t h e C a n a d i a n o f f s h o o t s o f E u r o p e a n o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d , t h e r e f o r e , c o n c e r n e d n o t o n l y w i t h t h e w o r k i n g c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e i r members b u t w i t h a d u l t e d u c a t i o n a s w e l l . I t was t h i s common i n t e r e s t t h a t prompted t h e c o n v e n t i o n ' s d e c i s i o n t o e s t a b l i s h a J e w i s h P u b l i c L i b r a r y " f o r t h e advan- cement o f J e w i s h l e a r n i n g and o f Y i d d i s h l i t e r a t u r e i n p a r t i c u l a r " . I 3

Thus t h e combined l i b r a r i e s o f t h e P a o l e Z i o n a n d D o r s h a i Zion Groups formed t h e n u c l e u s o f t h e L i b r a r y , t o which l a t e r was added t h e l i b r a r y o f t h e Baron d e H i r s c h 1 n s t i t u t e . 1 4 On March 3, 1912, t h e L i b r a r y f i r s t o p e n e d i t s d o o r s , i t s f i r s t l o c a t i o n , a r e n t e d s t o r e . I t was s o o n a p p a r - e n t , however, t h a t t h e s u b s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e l a b o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n s were i n s u f f i c i e n t t o s u p p o r t i t , a n d t h e L i b r a r y was c l o s e d t e m p o r a r i l y u n t i l f i r m e r f i n a n c i a l f o u n d a t i o n s c o u l d b e l a i d .

I n May, 1914, t h e L i b r a r y r e - o p e n e d . A t t h i s t i m e , t h e t o t a l number o f volumes amounted t o f o u r h u n d r e d f o r t y - n i n e .15 During t h e n e x t t w e l v e months, a Book D r i v e g a r n e r e d a n a d d i t i o n a l t h r e e h u n d r e d books w h i c h , w i t h o t h e r d o n a t i o n s and p u r c h a s e s , r a i s e d t h e number o f volumes t o f i f - t e e n h u n d r e d f o r t y . The m a j o r i t y o f t h e s e b o o k s were w r i t t e n i n Y i d d i s h , t h e r e m a i n d e r i n E n g l i s h , F r e n c h , R u s s i a n a n d Hebrew. Books i n Y i d d i s h p r e d o m i n a t e d u n t i l t h e mid-1930's. S i n c e t h e n , t h e p e r c e n t a g e h a s d e c l i n - e d t o i t s p r e s e n t p r o p o r t i o n o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e t h i r d o f t h e ~ i b r a r y ' s c o n t e n t . I n 1914, d e s p i t e i t s l i m i t e d f u n d s , t h e L i b r a r y made i t s f i r s t p u r c h a s e o f o l d and r a r e Hebrew b o o k s , a n e x p r e s s i o n o f i t s d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o encompass a l l a s p e c t s o f ~ e w i s h c u l t u r e .

I n 1914, t o o , t h e L i b r a r y i n a u g u r a t e d a p r o g r a m o f l e c t u r e s a n d l i t e r - a r y e v e n t s , a t which b o t h E n g l i s h a n d idd dish-speaking J e w i s h s c h o l a r s , a u t h o r s and p o e t s w e r e t h e l e c t u r e r s . The m a j o r i t y o f t h e s e programs w e r e i n Y i d d i s h and t h e g u e s t s i n c l u d e d B. J. S a c k , a u t h o r o f "The H i s t o r y o f t h e Jews i n C a n a d a ' , Maurice Samuel a n d I r v i n g L a y t o n . This program con- t i n u e d , a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e L i b r a r y ' s p o l i c y , and t o d a y t h e many a u t o - g r a p h e d works o f t h e s e l e c t u r e r s , t o g e t h e r w i t h L i b r a r y p u r c h a s e s , form t h e L i b r a r y ' s renowned c o l l e c t i o n o f Y i d d i s h m a t e r i a l . Few s u c h s i g n i f i - c a n t c o l l e c t i o n s a r e e x t a n t t o d a y b e c a u s e o f t h e a l m o s t t o t a l d e s t r u c t i o n o f Y i d d i s h w r i t i n g s i n Nazi Europe.

The i m p o r t a n c e o f Y i d d i s h l e t t e r s t o t h e L i b r a r y i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n a l e t t e r d a t e d 1919 from t h e Y i d d i s h p o e t , M o r r i s R o s e n f e l d , who was s e v e r a l t i m e s a g u e s t s p e a k e r a t t h e L i b r a r y . "I have r e c e i v e d . . . y o u r F o u r t h a n d

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F i f t h Annual Report

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^{i t}h a s t r u l y s u r p r i s e d me. I f y o u t h i n k t h e i m m i - g r a n t Jews o f New York who speak and r e a d Y i d d i s h p o s s e s s a n y t h i n g i n t h e n a t u r e o f your f o l k ' s b i b l i o t h e k , you a r e i n e r r o r , f o r t h e y do n o t " . T h i s q u o t a t i o n i l l u s t r a t e s t h e p o s i t i o n a l r e a d y a c h i e v e d by t h e Jewish p u b l i c L i b r a r y a s a s u p p o r t e r of Y i d d i s h l i t e r a t u r e , a p o s i t i o n s t i l l m a i n t a i n e d .

Although u n c e r t a i n f i n a n c e s were always a problem, t h e ~ i b r a r y c a r r i e d on s u c c e s s f u l l y u n t i l 1923. I n t h a t y e a r , t h e L i b r a r y was f a c e d o n c e a g a i n w i t h what a p p e a r e d t o be a n i n s u r m o u n t a b l e f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s . The h o l d e r o f t h e mortgage on t h e r e c e n t l y p u r c h a s e d L i b r a r y b u i l d i n g had e n t e r e d a f o r e c l o s u r e n o t i c e ; t h e r e was no money t o pay c o a l o r e l e c t r i c i t y b i l l s ; once more t h e L i b r a r y s t o o d i n imminent danger o f b e i n g f o r c e d t o

c l o s e . A t t h e l a s t moment, t h e d i r e c t o r and two o f t h e L i b r a r y ' s suppor- t e r s managed t o e n l i s t t h e a i d o f s e v e r a l b u s i n e s s men - and t h e L i b r a r y was a b l e t o c o n t i n u e .

The L i b r a r y ' s g u i d i n g p r i n c i p l e h a s been t o p a r t i c i p a t e f u l l y i n any community c a u s e . Between t h e y e a r s 1915

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1945, t h e Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y p a r t i c i p a t e d i n Z i o n i s t Assembly; s e n t d e l e g a t e s t o t h e m e e t i n g s from which e v o l v e d t h e Canadian Jewish Congress; c o o p e r a t e d w i t h t h e ~ e w i s h immigrant Aid S o c i e t y t o implement immigration programs and i n a u g u r a t e d a Jewish Book E x h i b i t i o n , a j o i n t p r o j e c t o f t h e L i b r a r y , t h e Canadian Jewish Congress and t h e Young Men's Hebrew A s s o c i a t i o n , and now a n a n n u a l e v e n t . I n a d d i t i o n , d u r i n g world War 11, t h e L i b r a r y p r o v i d e d books t o t h e Jewish i n m a t e s o f i n t e r n m e n t camps i n canada.16

Two community s e r v i c e s o r i g i n a t e d by t h e L i b r a r y a r e t h e p r o v i s i o n o f s m a l l l i b r a r i e s t o c h i l d r e n ' s summer camps, and t h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f books t o h o s p i t a l p a t i e n t s . Today, a f u r t h e r s e r v i c e i s p r o v i d e d by t h e b r a n c h l i b r a r i e s which a r e s i t u a t e d i n t h r e e Montreal s u b u r b s . 1 7 Another program i n i t i a t e d by t h e L i b r a r y was a weekly s c h e d u l e o f r e c o r d e d c l a s s i c a l music and f o r e i g h t y e a r s , q u a r t e r s f o r a drama s c h o o l and t h e a t r e group were p r o v i d e d I n t h e L i b r a r y b u i l d i n g . l8

The need t o e s t a b l i s h a s e p a r a t e C h i l d r e n ' s S e c t i o n was r e c o g n i z e d a s e a r l y a s 1927, b u t t h e L i b r a r y was u n a b l e t o r e a l i z e t h i s p l a n u n t i l 1951.

I n March o f t h a t y e a r , a C h i l d r e n ' s L i b r a r y was o r g a n i z e d , occupying i t s own q u a r t e r s i n t h e L i b r a r y b u i l d i n g . Regular s t o r y h o u r s , h e l d i n Engl- i s h and Y i d d i s h , formed a p a r t o f t h e c h i l d r e n ' s program, from which e v o l v e d t h e p r e s e n t - d a y C h i l d r e n ' s T h e a t r e Group, one o f t h e few Y i d d i s h t h e a t r e groups f o r young p e o p l e .

When r e c o n s t i t u t e d i n 1914, t h e L i b r a r y C h a r t e r s t i p u l a t e d t h a t a P e o p l e ' s u n i v e r s i t y s h o u l d be o r g a n i z e d and conducted under L i b r a r y aus- p i c e s . 1 9 T h i s new d e p a r t m e n t was e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e 1915-1916 s e a s o n , and c o u r s e s i n l a n g u a g e s , economics and h i s t o r y were g i v e n f o r a monthly f e e of one d o l l a r . A l l c l a s s e s were h e l d i n t h e e v e n i n g i n rooms l o a n e d by a nearby P r o t e s t a n t s c h o o l . S e v e r a l y e a r s l a t e r , t h i s program was d i s - c o n t i n u e d and i t was n o t r e v i v e d u n t i l 1940, when t h e L i b r a r y was a b l e t o p r o v i d e i t s own accommodation. A t t h i s t i m e , a d i r e c t o r was a p p o i n t e d and c o u r s e s were g i v e n i n Jewish H i s t o r y , Y i d d i s h and world H i s t o r y , a t a c h a r g e o f t w e n t y - f i v e c e n t s a l e c t u r e . 2 0 The f e e s covered t h e l e c t u r e r ' s expenses and t h e L i b r a r y p a i d t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n c o s t s . I n 1954, w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f Y i d d i s h , t h e language c l a s s e s were d i s c o n t i n u e d s i n c e t h e s e were a v a i l a b l e e l s e w h e r e , and t h e L i b r a r y ' s p r i m a r y c o n c e r n was ~ e w i s h c u l t u r e . I n 1966, a l l c o u r s e s were ended.

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The y e a r s f o l l o w i n g w o r l d War I1 saw t h e L i b r a r y r e a c h a l o n g - d e s i r e d g o a l , t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f i t s own b u i l d i n g . A s i t e was p u r c h a s e d and t h e f i r s t o f a s e r i e s o f b u i l d i n g campaigns was launched. The t o t a l c o s t amounted t o t h r e e hundred thousand d o l l a r s , a n immense sum t o be r a i s e d from s u p p o r t e r s o f modest incomes. A t one p o i n t , c o n s t r u c t i o n was tem- p o r a r i l y h a l t e d f o r l a c k o f f u n d s , b u t t h e b u i l d i n g was f i n a l l y completed i n June, 1953, and f o r m a l l y opened t h e f o l l o w i n g O c t o b e r .

The L i b r a r y now p o s s e s s e d a Y i d d i s h s e c t i o n o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e p u t e , and a Hebrew c o l l e c t i o n which i n c l u d e d o l d and r a r e volumes a s w e l l a s works o f modern s c h o l a r s . 21 The E n g l i s h s e c t i o n c o n t a i n e d books concern- i n g m a t t e r s o f p a r t i c u l a r Jewish i n t e r e s t i n a d d i t i o n t o t h o s e f o r g e n e r a l c i r c u l a t i o n , o f a l e s s s p e c i a l i z e d n a t u r e . The C h i l d r e n ' s L i b r a r y formed a s e p a r a t e d i v i s i o n , t h e books a g a i n b e i n g d i v i d e d i n t o Y i d d i s h and E n g l i s h s e c t i o n s .

I n t h i s new b u i l d i n g , t h e L i b r a r y e n j o y e d i t s p o s i t i o n a s a c u l t u r a l c e n t r e f o r a number o f y e a r s , b u t by 1960, t h e Jewish p o p u l a t i o n had l a r g e l y moved i n t o t h e s u b u r b s ; and s o , i n o r d e r t o r e t a i n i t s c e n t r a l p o s i t i o n , t h e L i b r a r y s o l d i t s b u i l d i n g t o t h e ~ i b l i o t h e ~ u e N a t i o n a l e de Quebec and moved w e s t , t o occupy r e n t e d q u a r t e r s once a g a i n .

S i n c e 1950, many o f t h e Jewish community s e r v i c e s have u n i t e d t o r a i s e t h e i r f u n d s t h r o u g h t h e combined Jewish Appeal, now a d m i n u t e r e d by t h e A l l i e d Jewish Community S e r v i c e s . Today, g r a n t s from t h e P r o v i n c e o f Quebec and t h e C i t y o f M o n t r e a l and money r e c e i v e d from t h e A l l i e d J e w i s h Community S e r v i c e s have ended t h e f i n a n c i a l i n s e c u r i t y o f t h e p a s t , and t h e J e w i s h P u b l i c L i b r a r y p r e s e n t l y l o o k s f o r w a r d t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f

.

i t s second b u i l d i n g and t o a f u r t h e r e x p a n s i o n o f i t s s e r v i c e t o t h e community.

rain in,^^

a l e g a c y from i t s f i r s t p r e s i d e n t ; t h e p a p e r s o f t h e M o n t r e a l Y i d d i s h p o e t , J. I . S e g a l , d o n a t e d t o t h e L i b r a r y a r c h i v e s by h i s f a m i l y ; much o r i g i n a l s o u r c e m a t e r i a l p e r t a i n i n g t o p e r s o n a l i t i e s well-known t o t h e Jewish community, b o t h p a s t and p r e s e n t . These p a p e r s , i n b o t h E n g l i s h and Y i d d i s h , t o g e t h e r w i t h many documents r e l a t i n g t o t h e v a r i o u s c h a r i t a b l e o r g a n i z a t i o n s and syna- gogues o f M o n t r e a l , form t h e b a s i s o f t h e L i b r a r y ' s a r c h i v e s .

Source m a t e r i a l o f much v a l u e , which o t h e r w i s e would have been l o s t t o t h e community, h a s been accumulated i n t h i s way. As was t h e p r a c t i c e

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i n o t h e r L i b r a r y d e p a r t m e n t s , t h e knowledge and e x p e r i e n c e needed t o c a r r y o u t s u c h a n a r c h i v e s program was s o u g h t from among t h e L i b r a r y members and from i t s D i r e c t o r . However, no d e f i n i t e A r c h i v e s P o l i c y was f o r m u l a t e d and, a s a r e s u l t , m a t e r i a l was a c q u i r e d i n a h a p h a z a r d f a s h i o n o r " c o l l e c - t e d " i n t h e form o f i n d i v i d u a l i t e m s . o v e r t h e p a s t few y e a r s , i t had become i n c r e a s i n g l y a p p a r e n t t o t h e Board and A r c h i v e s Committee o f t h e Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y t h a t s u c h a n approach no l o n g e r met t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f a community i n c r e a s i n g l y aware o f i t s p a s t .

I n 1967, t h e A r c h i v e s Committee was r e q u e s t e d t o d r a f t a n a r c h i v e s management p o l i c y and t o b e g i n t h e t a s k o f a c c e s s i o n i n g and s o r t i n g a l a r g e b a c k l o g o f m a t e r i a l . T h i s work, now begun, i s b e i n g s u p e r v i s e d by two committee members who have a working knowledge of a r c h i v a l p r o c e d u r e s . v o l u n t e e r s a r e b e i n g t r a i n e d , though one d i f f i c u l t y o n l y now b e i n g o v e r - come i s t o f i n d workers f l u e n t i n Hebrew and Y i d d i s h t o d e a l w i t h t h e mat- e r l a l I n t h e s e l a n g u a g e s , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e v o l u n t e e r s i n t h e E n g l i s h s p e a k i n g g r o u p . Work i s p r o g r e s s i n g , however, and it i s e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e b a c k l o g o f m a t e r i a l w i l l b e s h e l v e d , l i s t e d and p a r t i a l l y indexed by t h e end o f 1970.

A t a p e - r e c o r d i n g p r o j e c t i s underway, and p h o t o g r a p h s a r e b e i n g t a k e n o f b u i l d i n g s and s i t e s i m p o r t a n t t o t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e Jewish community.

An o r d e r l y program o f p l a n n e d a c q u i s i t i o n s i s b e i n g i n s t i t u t e d , which i n c l u d e d m i c r o f i l m m a t e r i a l . F u r t h e r p r o j e c t s t o b e u n d e r t a k e n i n c l u d e a n Index of t h e L i b r a r y h o l d i n g s t o g e t h e r w i t h t h o s e o f o t h e r community organ- i z a t i o n s and p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s . P u b l i c a t i o n o f a P r e l i m i n a r y I n v e n t o r y and Union L i s t must remain f u t u r e g o a l s .

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y ' s A r c h i v e s Program, t h e A r c h i v e s Committee i s h o l d i n g j o i n t m e e t i n g s w i t h two o t h e r Jewish commun- i t y o r g a n i z a t i o n s , t h e Canadian Jewish and t h e A l l i e d J e w i s h Community The J o i n t Committee was a p p o i n t e d t o d e v i s e a n i n t e g r a t e d a r c h i v e s program t o encompass t h e h o l d i n g s o f t h e p r e s e n t r e p o s i t o r i e s a s w e l l a s m a t e r i a l i n t h e p o s s e s s i o n of o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s and i n p r i v a t e hands. Many of t h e s e o r g a n i z a t i o n s and i n d i v i d u a l s have i n d i c a t e d t h e i r wish t o b e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a Jewish Community A r c h i v e s program, i n which methods common t o a l l r e p o s i t o r i e s would b e u s e d .

As a f i r s t s t e p , t h e J o i n t Committee engaged t h e s e r v i c e s o f Mr. John Andreassen, o f t h e Records Company o f Canada, t o p r e p a r e a r e p o r t o n t h e p r e s e n t s t a t e o f t h e a r c h i v e s of t h e J e w i s h Community and t o o f f e r recom- mendations t o improve t h e e x i s t i n g s i t u a t i o n . Received i n A p r i l , 1969, t h e major p a r t of M r . A n d r e a s s e n ' s r e p o r t was a d o p t e d , and one immediate r e - s u l t was t h e Committee's d e c i s i o n t o engage a n a r c h i v i s t , whose s e r v i c e s would be s h a r e d betweein t h e Canadian Jewish Congress and t h e J e w i s h P u b l i c L i b r a r y , t h e two main a r c h i v e s r e p o s i t o r i e s .

Another s u g g e s t i o n , t o i n s t i t u t e a t r a i n i n g c o u r s e f o r v o l u n t e e r s , i s now b e i n g implemented, and from t h i s group t h e f u t u r e s t a f f f o r t h e Jewish Community A r c h i v e s w i l l be drawn. When t h e e x i s t i n g b a c k l o g o f m a t e r i a l i n t h e two c h i e f r e p o s i t o r i e s i s under c o n t r o l , it i s hoped t h a t t h e s e t r a i n e d workers w i l l b e a v a i l a b l e t o a i d t h o s e o r g a n i z a t i o n s and i n d i v i d - u a l s who wish t o keep p e r s o n a l p o s s e s s i o n o f t h e i r h o l d i n g s , b u t t o mam- t a m them a c c o r d i n g t o r e c o g n i z e d a r c h i v a l metho'ds.

The Canadian ~ e w i s h Congress and t h e Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y p l a n t o move i n t o new b u i l d i n g s , Congress i n 1970 and t h e L i b r a r y w i t h i n a s p a c e

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o f t h r e e o r f o u r y e a r s . The A r c h i v e s S e c t i o n i n e a c h s t r u c t u r e i s b e i n g p l a n n e d t o i n c l u d e p r o p e r a t m o s p h e r i c c o n d i t i o n s and s p a c e a d e q u a t e f o r p r e s e n t and f u t u r e s t o r a g e . Areas w i l l b e p r o v i d e d f o r l i s t e n i n g t o t a p e - r e c o r d i n g s , r e s e a r c h and r e f e r e n c e , m i c r o f i l m r e a d e r s and o f f i c e s . For t h e p r e s e n t , m i c r o f i l m i n g and r e p a i r s w i l l have t o b e e x e c u t e d by o t h e r s , b u t f u t u r e p l a n s e n v i s i o n t h e a d d i t i o n o f t h e s e d e p a r t m e n t s .

Today, t h e L i b r a r y c o n t i n u e s i t s m a n i f o l d a c t i v i t i e s i n s e v e r e l y l i m i t e d , r e n t e d q u a r t e r s , b u t s t i l l r e t a i n s i t s t r a d i t i o n a l p o s i t i o n a s a c e n t r e of t h e J e w i s h community. The g o a l o f a b u i l d i n g o f i t s own i s n o t f o r g o t t e n , and p l a n s go f o r w a r d t o r e a l i z e t h i s a m b i t i o n . Thus, t h e L i b r a r y s t o r y h a s come f u l l c i r c l e .

The f i f t y - f i v e y e a r s o f t h e Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y ' s e x i s t e n c e mark a p e r i o d o f c o n s t a n t growth and s e r v i c e , p a r t i c u l a r l y t o t h e Y i d d i s h s p e a k i n g s e c t i o n o f t h e Jewish community. O r i g i n a t i n g from two s m a l l , s p e c i a l i z e d l i b r a r i e s , t h o s e o f t h e Z i o n i s t and Labour Z i o n i s t Groups, t h e i n s t i t u t i o n l a u n c h e d i n 1914 boradened i t s scope t o i n c l u d e a l l a s p e c t s o f Judaism, b o t h a n c i e n t and modern. I t s own a r c h i v e s program f o r g i n g ahead, a n a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t i n t h e proposed Jewish Community A r c h i v e s , t h e Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y f a c e s a f u t u r e b r i g h t w i t h many p l a n s . To t h e Jewish community, t h e L i b r a r y s y m b o l i z e s t h e d e d i c a t i o n o f "Everyman" t o t h e s p i r i t o f e d u c a t i o n and c u l t u r e .

FOOTNOTES

"Our L i b r a r y " , pub. by t h e Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y , M o n t r e a l 1957, p.14.

"Judaism", I. E p s t e i n , P e l i c a n ~ d . 1959, pp. 289, 299.

"Handbook o f Mechanics' I n s t i t u t i o n s " , W.H.J. T r a i c e , Longmans, Brown and Co., London, 1856.

"Language and t h e Mother Tongue o f t h e Jews o f America"

n

L o u i s Rosenberg, "Our L i b r a r y " , 1957, p. 98.

" S t u d i e s on Jewish Immigration t o Canada, 1870-190OU, D r .

J.

^Kage,

M o n t r e a l , 1958, p. 9.

"The Jew i n Canada", A . D. H a r t , E d i t o r , Jewish P u b l i c a t i o n s L t d . , Toronto and Montreal, 1926, p. 14.

"150th A n n i v e r s a r y Booklet of t h e S p a n i s h & P o r t u g u e s e Synagogue", M o n t r e a l , pub. 1918, p . 7.

" H i s t o r y o f t h e Jews", H. G r a e t z , J e w i s h P u b l i c a t i o n S o c i e t y o f Ameri- c a , pub. 1894, p. 387.

"Our L i b r a r y " , i b i d . , p. 12. 1 0 . " S e e k e r s o f Zion" Group.

11. The Labour Z i o n i s t O r g a n i z a t i o n .

12. The Workmen's C i r c l e s , Jewish N a t i o n a l Workers A l l i a n c e , e t c . "The Jew i n Canada", i b i d . , p. 460.

1 3 . "Our L i b r a r y " , i b i d . , p. 17. 1 4 . i b i d , pp. 1 4 , 15, 17.

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1 5 . i b i d . , pp. 20-22. 1 6 . "Our L i b r a r y " , i b i d . , pp. 26-27, 59, 67-69, 71, 72.

1 7 . S t . L a u r e n t , i n t h e B e t h Ora Synagogue; C o t e S t . Luc, i n t h e Beth Z i o n Synagogue; Chomedy, i n t h e Young I s r a e l Synagogue.

18-19. "our L i b r a r y " , i b i d , pp. 1 9 , 26. 20. "Our L i b r a r y " , i b i d , pp.79- 80. 21. "Our L i b r a r y " , i b i d , pp. 39, 46.

22. Reuben B r a i n i n , L a t e a u t h o r and j o u r n a l i s t , o n e - t i m e e d i t o r o f C a n a d a ' s f i r s t Y i d d i s h d a i l y newspaper, "The D a i l y E a g l e " , Jewish P u b l i c L i b r a r y " B i b l i o g r a p h y n ( P e r i o d i c a l s ) , 1969.

23. C a n a d i a n J e w i s h C o n g r e s s , a n a t i o n a l a s s o c i a t i o n composed o f r e p r e - s e n t a t i v e s o f a l l J e w i s h Community o r g a n s .

24. A l l i e d J e w i s h Community S e r v i c e s , p l a n n i n g a g e n c y f o r o v e r a l l com- m u n i t y s e r v i c e s and f o r a l l o c a t i o n o f f u n d s r a i s e d b y t h e Combined J e w i s h A p p e a l .

A r c h i v e s S e c t i o n , C a n a d i a n H i s t o r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n , 1969-70 E x e c u t i v e Committee :

John Bovey, Chairman; B e r n a r d w e i l b r e n n e r , Vice-chairman; F r a n c o i s Beaudin, S e c r e t a r y ; James P a r k e r , T r e a s u r e r ; John A n d r e a s s e n and J a c q u e s M a t h i e u .

S t a n d i n q Committee o n O r a l H i s t o r y : Georges D e l i s l e , Chairman.

S t a n d i n q Committee o n P a p e r P r e s e r v a t i o n : John A n d r e a s s e n , Chairman.

The C a n a d i a n ~ r c h i v i s t / ~ ' ~ r c h i v i s t e Canadien

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The J o u r n a l o f t h e A r c h i v e s S e c t i o n , C a n a d i a n H i s t o r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n . P u b l i s h e d a n n u a l l y i n J u n e . S u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e

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$2.00 t o members o f t h e C.H.A.

Back i s s u e s a v a i l a b l e : Vol. 1, No. 2 ( 1 9 6 4 ) , Vol. 1, Nos. 4-6 (1966-68) $ 1 . 0 0 e a c h ; Vol. 1, No. 7 (1969) $2.00 e a c h .

A l l communications s h o u l d b e a d d r e s s e d t o The E d i t o r , ugh A . T a y l o r , P r o v i n c i a l A r c h i v e s , F r e d e r i c t o n , New Brunswick, Canada.