Greetings Safranim: I am going to volunteer at a library in a synagogue - there are no library-trained personnel currently and only one person who has been volunteering just to keep it open a few hours per week. So far - there is software to record catalog data - I don't know what it is yet - haven't seen it (it's new - but a lack of help means that not much is in the system). The library is NOT well-publicized amongst the membership - it is a nice collection - but needs more materials.
Currently, as I understand, the teachers at the day school operating form the building would love to have resources for teaching (which are not there yet). There is not a great deal of funding - but there is a current fund-raising effort elsewhere - and one of the heads of the committee wants funds to go to the library for new resources. She wants to see the library thrive - and have members use it. I love the idea - but am concerned about spending resources in an area that might not get uch use. What is it like at your synagogues? We are a fairly large congregation - there is another synagogue in town that might also be interested - we don't have a huge Jewish community and there is a good possibility that the items the community would like to see cannot be found elsewhere - although the university has a Jewish reading room and has a Jewish Studies program. We also have one of the largest Jewish academies (maybe in the country?) right next door. Soooo - also - what sort of a survey did you do to find out what members wanted? What is a good starting place? What SHOULD a good collection include ? Do you have cooperative arrangements with other synagogues and schools in your area? Have any sort of inter-library loan system? Thanks! Nancy --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@osu.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
