Dear Friends and Colleagues, We have the distinct honor and pleasure of announcing that the 2020 recipient of the Fanny Goldstein Merit Award is Zachary M. Baker.
Zachary Baker provided over four decades of dedicated and scholarly service to the field of Judaica librarianship and the Association of Jewish Libraries beginning in 1976 at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York City as a cataloger of Yiddish books until 1981 as well as a genealogical reference librarian beginning around 1978. From 1981 to 1987, he worked at the Montreal Jewish Public Library and was appointed as its head of technical services circa 1983. From 1987-1999, Zachary returned to YIVO as Head Librarian. Most recently, he served as Reinhard Family Curator of Judaica and Hebraica Collections in the Stanford University Libraries from 1999-2018, a position from which he retired in January 2018. In addition, from 2010 until his retirement, he was the Stanford Libraries’ Assistant University Librarian for Collection Development for the Humanities and Social Sciences. He has published numerous articles and bibliographies relating to Yiddish and other areas of Jewish studies. Zachary has been a very active member of AJL for as long as any of us can remember--he attended his first AJL conference in 1976. Among his many positions in AJL, he was president of the association from 1994-1996. He was a leading member of the local AJL Annual Convention organizing committee before, during, and following this event in 2005 when it took place in Oakland, California. He was also a longtime contributing editor and editor-in-chief of Judaica Librarianship. Zachary received an AJL Judaica Reference honorable mention in 2018 for “Resources in Yiddish Studies <https://ingeveb.org/tags/Resources%20in%20Yiddish%20Studies>” published in: In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies. Zachary is not only the consummate Judaica librarian but a leading scholar of all things Judaic and is especially well-versed in Yiddish studies. His contributions to AJL and the field are so abundant, it would be difficult to even begin to take stock of them. He presented numerous papers at AJL Conferences over the years, virtually annually, before his retirement. On October 9. 2018, “Zachary M. Baker Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who <https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/457218/zachary-m-baker-presented-with-the-albert-nelson-marquis-lifetime-achievement-award-by-marquis-whos-who> . He has been endorsed by Marquis Who's Who as a leader in the field of library science.” *Mazel-tov, yasher-koyekh, kol ha-kavod, and congratulations* to Zachary who is a most worthy recipient of the Fanny Goldstein Merit Award. Jacqueline Ben-Efraim Susan Dubin Elana Gensler Elliot H. Gertel, Chair Daniel Scheide 2020 Fanny Goldstein Merit Award Committee ****************** ********* ****************** ********* *The Fanny Goldstein Merit Award, named for the librarian, social activist, and founder of National Jewish Book Month, is bestowed in recognition of loyal and ongoing contributions to the Association of Jewish Libraries and to the profession of Jewish librarianship.* *Born on May 15, 1895 [some sources say 1888], Fanny Goldstein devoted her life to books and community. She was the first female Judaica librarian and the first woman to direct a branch library in Massachusetts, where she was head of Boston's West End Branch for many years. A prominent figure in the Boston Jewish community, she is best known as the founder of Jewish Book Week, which began when Goldstein organized a display of Jewish books at the Boston Public Library in 1925.* ============================================= Elliot H. Gertel אליהו־צבי גרטל / עלע־הערש גערטל AJL-ALA Liaison Chair, 2020 AJL Fanny Goldstein Merit Award Committee Irving M. Hermelin Curator Emeritus of Judaica The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan [email protected]
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