I am very pleased to announce the addition of a new database to Columbia's Jewish Studies collection, the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book. This exceptional resource is a detailed database of approximately 90% of the books printed in Hebrew letters between 1470 and 1960 (Ladino and Judeo-Arabic books are all included; Yiddish books are not – although the database does include books printed in both Hebrew and Yiddish) The database includes more than 141,000 titles, often with extensive bibliographic information (textual variants, unique pagination, etc.) about the individual books included in the records.
Much of the database, including the records themselves, are in Hebrew. For help with the site, feel free to contact the Jewish Studies Librarian (jewishstudies@libraries.cul.columbia.edu).
At this point, a proxy (for offsite access) is not yet available. From a Columbia computer, you can access the site at http://www.hebrew-bibliography.com/loginform.aspx. (I will update when off-site access has been established.)
Update: The Bibliography of the Hebrew Book is now freely available online through the National Library of Israel.
I am trying to locate early Hasidic seforim in Yiddish. Have you any that might be downloaded or even borrowed? Do you have any contacts where such books can be found?
Thank you.
Hi Avram,
For downloads, you might try hebrewbooks.org or the Yiddish Book Center’s database (http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/). Are you looking for particular works? You can also search Worldcat (https://resolver.library.columbia.edu/AMS7418) with your UNI and password if you are a Columbia affiliate, and click on “Libraries worldwide” once you’ve found an item to see if the book is locally available.
Within NYC, some books can be found here at Columbia, but many more can be found at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the New York Public Library, and YIVO, at the Center for Jewish History downtown.
Searching for studies and bibliography on Binyamin Rafael ben Yosef’s editing activity, Constantinople (1890-1928).
Thank you for your help,
Ph. VELAY
Hello Ph. Velay,
The Bibliography of the Hebrew Book is a list of books published with Hebrew letters. It is useful for finding all books by a certain person, or, in your case, edited by a particular individual. A search for בנימן רפאל בן יוסף as a keyword in a basic search, for example, brought up seven titles which he edited.
Unfortunately, there is no bibliography relating specifically to the history of Jewish books and printing. You might want to try RAMBI, however, to see if there is any research that has already been done relating to Binyamin Rafael ben Yosef’s editing activity.
Hope this helps!
Michelle