Online Judaica Resources

GENERAL

• Encyclopedia Judaica - The online version of the second edition published in 2007 has been purchased with the Robbie Frank Library Fund. It provides an overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel, from Rabbinic to modern Yiddish literature, and from Zionism to the contribution of Jews to world culture. To access this resource, Temple Emanu-El members may call the office or contact the librarian for the password.
• Hebrew Books (Torah seforim) – Provides access to old Torah Seforim that are out-of-print and/or circulation, written by American rabbis. Users can view and print the entire sefer.
• JSTOR– Journal content published prior to 1923 in the United States and prior to 1870 elsewhere, is freely available to anyone, anywhere in the world. The collection includes the Jewish Quarterly Review, 1888-1922. For more information check the website.
• Jewish Women's Archive - The archive is an extensive collection of stories, struggles and achievements of Jewish women in North America, including JewishWomen: a comprehensive historical encyclopedia, edited by Paula E. Hyman, Dalia Ofer and Alice Shalvi.
• Jewish Virtual Library - Click on "The Library" to find content on following subjects: history, Israel, politics, biography, vital statistics and more.
• The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls – The oldest known Biblical manuscripts have been digitized by the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and Google, and are now accessible online.
• The Jewish Encyclopedia – published in 1901-1906, it is a relevant resource for historical information about Judaism.

JEWISH LIBRARIES

• Center for Jewish History – Combines collections of five major institutions of Jewish scholarship, history and art: American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, the Yeshiva University Institute, and the YIVO Institute of Jewish Research. It is the second largest Jewish library and archives in the world. There are links from the Library page to free online resources.
• Harvard University Library Judaica Division’s Publications Online - Over 100 publications issued by the Division, including exhibit catalogs, lectures and articles related to the collection, proceedings of library conferences held in the Division and monographs.
• Jewish Theological Seminary Library- Can search the library’s catalog and link to the library’s digital collection and to many other free Jewish online resources on such subjects as: Bible, Talmud, Jewish Education, Jewish History, Jewish Lifecycle, Jewish Music and more.
• National Library of Israel - The largest collection of publications within Israel is accessible to the public free of charge at the National Library with over 5 million volumes of books, manuscripts, periodicals, archives, maps, photographs and audio recordings. Officially known as the Jewish National and University Library. It is located on the Hebrew University campus.
• Yiddish Book Center – The Yiddish Book Center works to rescue Yiddish and other modern Jewish books and open up their content to the world. Most of the collection has been digitized. Currently 11,000 Yiddish titles are available online, free of charge.

RI LIBRARY CATALOGS

• Ocean State Libraries – Shared catalog for all Rhode Island public libraries. If you have a public library card, and the item you requesting circulates, the item can be sent to your public library for your pickup.
• HELIN Library Catalog – Shared catalog for most of RI’s academic, hospital libraries and the State Law Library.
• Josiah – Online catalog for Brown University. To borrow a book that circulates from the Brown University Library, ask at your Rhode Island public library branch about their Interlibrary Loan Service.
• Worldcat - It includes the holdings of most RI libraries. – a global catalog of library collections. You can search for books, music, videos and more.
• See also: the above links to the Jewish Theological Seminary Library and to the Jewish National and University Library (the National Library of Israel).
• For additional information about RI libraries, click on the State of Rhode Island, Office of Library and Information Services website at:http://www.olis.ri.gov/libraries/

E- BOOKS

• Digital Yiddish Library - The full text of over 11,000 Yiddish books in the Yiddish Book Center are available online, free of charge.
• Google Books – Find millions of books you can preview or read, including Israeli authors. If book is in the public domain you can download a PDF copy. See additional details under “About Google Books”.
• Google Hebrew Books – Access to Hebrew books published in Israel.
• Hathitrust E-book Access – The HathiTrust Digital Library is a collaboration of universities and other institutions to archive and share their digital collections, including e-books and journal content. This includes both copyrighted and public-domain materials (pre-1923), available to all to the extent permitted by law and contracts.

RI JEWISH INSTITUTIONS

• Holocaust Education and Resource Center of RI - The facility houses a library, artifacts, an audio-visual collection and a memorial garden. Materials are available for checkout by teachers, students and group leaders.
• Jewish Alliance of Greater RI, Education Services – Provides services for teachers and students and links to free online resources (Click on “Creative Center and Library” then on “Other Online Resources”).
• Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association – Serves scholars, teachers, students, genealogists and history buffs. Provides support for teachers. Links to other related sites.

OTHER JEWISH AND ISRAELI INSTITUTIONS

• Beit Hatfutsot - The Museum of the Jewish People is more than a museum. It tells the ongoing and extraordinary story of the Jewish people. Beit Hatfutsot connects Jewish people to their roots and strengthens their personal and collective Jewish identity. It conveys to the world the fascinating narrative of the Jewish people and the transcending essence of the Jewish culture, faith, purpose and deed while presenting the contribution of world Jewry to humanity.
• Ellis Island – Browse the sections of the website to locate information about Ellis Island, its resources and services.
• Jewish Book Council – The organization's main purpose is the promotion of books. The Council promotes reading, writing, publishing and distribution of quality content in English and serves as the national resource center for information about the American Jewish literary scene. It website includes book reviews, programs, resources for authors, publishers and readers and more.
• The National Center For Jewish Film – A motion-picture archive, distributor, resource center and exhibitor, its mission is the collection, preservation and exhibition of films with artistic and educational value relevant to the Jewish experience. Films are available for public exhibition and DVD purchase.
• United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism – It is the association of Conservative congregation in North America, consisting of approximately 700 affiliated synagogues.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – The website provides a link to its library, under “Museum” from the homepage. On the library site one can search the online catalog, ask a question and find information about both the Museum's online and on-site services.
• Yad Vashem - World center for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust. Located in Israel.