[Heb-NACO] RAS Division Meeting Minutes, 2024 AJL Conference

[Taub, Jeremiah Aaron]

Dear all,

Please find the minutes of the RAS Division meeting at the AJL conference below. Many thanks to Shoshanah Traum who took the minutes and to all who provided feedback.

Thanks and all my best,
Aaron (Past RAS Division President)

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Minutes of AJL's Research Libraries, Archives, and Special Collections (RAS) Division Meeting AJL Conference, San Diego, California, June 25, 2024, 10:45-11:30am.



Minutes taken by Shoshana Traum; with edits by Yermiyahu Ahron Taub and input from Committee Chairpersons



  1.  2023 Minutes Approved
  2.  Committee Reports

     *   RAS Reference and Bibliography Awards: Eitan Kensky, RAS VP

        *   Thanked members of committee, Rachel Ariel, Sharon Benhamou, Daniel Kestenbaum, Konstanze Kunst, Anna Levia, and Diane Mizrahi.
        *   Announced winners and honorable mentions for Reference and Bibliography awards.
        *   Brief remarks from Lies Meiboom, co-editor of Fables in Jewish Culture: the Jon A. Lindseth Collection, winner of the RAS Bibliography award.
        *   Acknowledged and thanked Eric Chaim Klein for supporting the RAS awards.
        *   Rachel Ariel will be replacing Eitan as the next Chairperson of the Reference and Bibliography Awards Committee.

     *   RAS Cataloging Committee (Daniel Scheide)

        *   Activities: regular cataloging clinic in partnership with Education Committee; cataloging forum
        *   Met twice this year, considering meeting more often to work on pressing concerns like subject headings
        *   David Roth (NLI) is stepping down, Elad Weisz (NLI) and Tali Winkler (Yale) will be joining the Committee.

     *   Judaica Librarianship Journal (Rachel Leket-Mor, editor)

        *   Introduced history of journal, pointed out past editors. Launched online journal in 2013, moved twice.
        *   Currently on OJS platform, which is open source. Uploaded all back issues, all searchable.
        *   Working on the next volume, which was planned for the end of last year but delayed by circumstances. Should be out by the end of this year.
        *   Guest editors, Nadav Sharon and Hannah Srour-Zackon, will work on the 2025 (CONFIRM!) issue covering Canadian Judaica repositories.

        *   The volume after the next is still accepting submissions.
        *   Some materials relating to the JCR (mentioned in several panels at the conference) was published in previous issues
        *   Unrelated: thanked contributors to an article in the Journal of Israeli History on Israeli librarianship outside of Israel

     *   Programming (Konstanze Kunst)

        *   Established in March, took three months to make workflows and forms.
        *   Officially the Programming Coordination Committee-they aren't in charge of coming up with programming.
        *   Reviewed 25 applications, approved 24. The form forces people to think about what they are doing and allows suggestions for different days or times.
        *   Will ask Michelle to send out tips for planning programs.
        *   Generally checks the form every Sunday, let Konstanze know if she misses something
        *   The form was sent to the AJL member list, might be on the calendar page of the website (NOTE: isn't), but if not it will be added somewhere.

     *   Education (Haim Gottschalk)

        *   Heavier on the SSCPL side
        *   Had 10 sessions of the cataloging clinic. Clinic is unrecorded so it is a safe space for asking questions; no need to fear making mistakes. Meant to be helpful if you're stuck on cataloging any kind of book. Goal is to work collectively.
        *   Not education, but had the 11th cataloging forum, with a focus on DEI-making things less Ashke- and Christo-normative. Another forum was about how to propose things, a third (title missed) was extremely well attended.
        *   Courses are very cataloging heavy. For the upcoming year, the Education Committee is looking offer the following courses: Cataloging Rare Hebrew Books; Descriptive Cataloging for Hebrew Books; Assigning Judaica Subject Headings; and Introduction to Provenance Research (if time permits).
        *   Some possible Cataloging Forum topics are: cataloging art exhibition catalogs; music cataloging, and "Cool Things We've Cataloged."
        *   Accepting suggestions for other forums

     *   AJL/AJS Liaison (Rachel Greenblatt)

        *   Annual section at AJS conference by AJL for professional development to introduce scholars to careers in LAM. Some years it ends up being more about opening people's eyes to what their institutions' librarians actually do.
        *   Has submitted a proposal for next year.
        *   AJS generally avoids repeating panel topics in subsequent meetings, so we've had to both work to explain the need to present a professional development panel of this time, aimed at young scholars, in repeated years and slightly tweak the emphasis in subsequent proposals.
        *   Presenting a paper on Nazi-looted books-the point is to be visible to scholars/academics.

        *   Other ideas:

           *   Getting resources out to Jewish studies
           *   Israel-related materials to libraries around North America
           *   Personal agenda: become more available for campuses without a Jewish studies presence
           *   Important to let higher-ups know you're doing it

     *   Certificate Program with JTS: Michelle Margolis

        *   Completing the second year of current program
        *   So far 54 students registered for classes or certificate
        *   9 classes completed, including:

           *   Intro to Judaica Reference
           *   Hebrew for Librarians I + II

              *   Hebrew classes were added because many students didn't have enough knowledge for cataloging
              *   There have been students to whom it was suggested that they take an intro to Hebrew class

        *   Current classes: Collection Development and Paleography
        *   Upcoming classes: Hebrew II, Archives, and Jewish Libraries in Historical and Contemporary Contexts
        *   Thinking about doing a course on funding, digital humanities acquisitions for Jewish libraries
        *   Internships: two students have submitted action plans, five with proposals, and five eligible
        *   Participants coming from all over North America and Europe. Many already in Judaica librarianship positions
        *   If anyone is interested in teaching or participating, talk to Michelle
        *   Supported by two organizations, so they can make it free for most students
        *   Encouraging in-person internships because the rest of the program is remote

     *   International Initiative Committee (Katalin Rac)

        *   Conversations once a month

  *   This year: Lital Beer presented on AJL to Israeli college librarians and promoted the advantages of membership.
  *   Vanessa Freedman presented AJL at a meeting of the British and Irish Hebraica Libraries Group and Arthur Kiron participated in the same meeting. They emphasized the networking and professional development possibilities the membership in AJL entails.
  *   Katalin Rac represented AJL at a collections roundtable the Latin American Jewish Studies Association (LAJSA) organized. LAJSA is putting together a directory of collections/libraries housing materials pertaining to the study of Latin American Jewries. Rac pointed out that the AJL map could be a good example for LAJSA to follow and the information they gather could help AJL to reach out to organizations we did not have contact with before.
  *   Latin American initiative to make a list of Judaica collections in Latin America.
  *   Helping to encourage AJL to look beyond English-language and US focus/basis.

  1.  Discussion Topics

     *   Outreach to younger professionals needed.

        *   Gail: this year had lots of money to give to students for conference support, and not all of it was used. Tried to do outreach, wants everyone to reach to their students to come. Contact her and Lenore.
        *   Scholarship committee-confusion that there's also other options for support beyond the scholarship, make the website clearer.
        *   Maybe social media

     *   Israel studies libguide (Rachel Greenblatt)

        *   Did produce a document early on-very wide ranging bibliography to provide unbiased and critical information
        *   So many anti-Israel libguides out there-should we make Israel one(s)?
        *   Remake the Google doc into libguide?
        *   Looking for people to help shift and update the document. Two volunteers
        *   Is it about the conflict, advocacy, broader topic?

        *   Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis has something.
        *   Recruit Israel Studies scholar to help? Suggestion: Perhaps Professor Shaina Weiss of Brandeis?
        *   Do we have a central resource/libguide for antisemitism?
        *   Historically, AJL hasn't created formal libguides, as they don't have an account. Can Brandeis host?
        *   Wiki? Another option?
        *   Michelle will submit a form to the Programming Committee to make a roundtable on this topic.
        *   A small group is forming to work on this matter.


  1.  Welcomed the incoming RAS leadership (Eitan Kensky as RAS President; Rachel Ariel as RAS Vice-President); noted the completion of Yermiyahu Ahron Taub's term as RAS President.
  2.  Motion to adjourn made and passed.

Minutes submitted to AJL Council and the membership by Yermiyahu Ahron Taub, 09/13/2024


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