OCTOBER 2024
der zamler
JPL’S NEWSLETTER FOR ALL THINGS
ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
g’mar chatima tovah!
Painting of poppies by artist Rita Briansky. Image courtesy the JPL Archives, Rita Briansky Fonds.
May the New Year bring peace to our readers, near and far.
It feels like we blinked and der zamler time was upon us yet again. In late September, we hosted Behind the Curtain: meet the cast of recollections with the JPL. Thank you to our passionate panelists, attentive crowd, to the MJM team for hosting us, and to our wonderful volunteers. It was a wonderful evening!
The panel discussion as part of Behind the Curtain. Images by Hugo Cournoyer.
Last week our team had the pleasure of taking a private tour of the MEM, Centre des mémoires montréalaises, from Head of Collections and Research, Marie-Anne Gagnon. Images from the JPL Archives have been used in their exhibits, which aim to tell a diversity of stories, representing many of the identities and experiences which make up Montreal history. We were inspired by their programming, by the many types of engagement they offer, and with their work in the pursuit of 'slow museology.' We also were excited to see, in three different parts of the museum, the wonderful Rivka Augenfeld! Along with dozens of other Montrealers, the museum recorded a video of Augenfeld talking about her experience of our wonderful city.
But why take one tour when you can take two? In a similar vein, the new company TourBird, which offers self-guided walking tours of Montreal, has used some JPL Archives images for their walking tour of the Mile End. We had the chance to test-drive this tour, which brought the history of a beloved former town-turned neighbourhood to life. It was great to learn the history of buildings, businesses, and about some of the public art found along the route, with archival images to contrast with what was standing before us.
The JPL Archives team on a tour of the MEM, Centre des mémoires montréalaises, with Marie-Anne Gagnon, Head of Collections and Research.
Two weeks ago we hosted another lively Yiddish translate-a-thon. As archivists, it's such a wonderful event to experience. Technology that can assist in translation, particularly in deciphering handwriting, has been making leaps and bounds in recent years, and it's something many in our field have been looking into. But events like the Yiddish translate-a-thons are reminders of the vast amounts of knowledge that community members bring to the materials. An app may be able to tell us what a document says, but it takes someone immersed in the culture to understand that the person discussed in the letter became a famous operatic tenor after he was a cantor at their synagogue.
If you have experience with Yiddish translation and would like to volunteer for this project, please fill out the volunteer form below.
For those with other interests in volunteering with the JPL Archives, the form below is open for you, too!
upcoming events
Event poster featuring the Tractus Theologico-Politicus (1670) from the JPL's Rare Books Collection.
Religion et Philosophie à l'âge d'or de la coexistence en Espagne: Traces bibliographiques
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
2:00pm EST
Rare books and special collections section of UQAM's centrale library, room A-R120
Event in French
As part of UQAM's 2024 edition of the Semaine hispanophone (Hispanophone week), join the JPL Archives and Special Collections, along with colleagues from UQAM and UdeM, for a panel discussion and display of rare books. The afternoon event will cover the so-called Golden Period of Muslim-Jewish intellectual exchange and the Inquisition and expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula. For more information, click here.
Registration required.
Part of the Dr. Michael D. Paul Rare Book Initiative of the Jewish Public Library.
Event poster featuring the Liturgy of the Seventh Sabbath (c.1750-1850) from the JPL's Rare Books Collection.
By the Book: An expert presentation on rare book conservation
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
6:30pm EST
At Concordia University (EV-3.711), the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Canadian Art
Event in English
Join Conservator Maria Castañeda Delgado as she shares care-taking practices that honour the material traditions of our rarest books. This presentation will shed light on different types of bindings and materials used in a book’s composition, and attendees will learn about the dos and don’ts of responsible repair and see first-hand examples from our Rare Books Collection.
Part of the Dr. Michael D. Paul Rare Book Initiative of the Jewish Public Library.
FOR THE RECORD:
A BLOG ABOUT THE WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE, AND HOW (OF ARCHIVING)
The Ma'aseh Toviyah, featuring the 'man as a house', from the JPL's Rare Books Collection.
Remembering Dr. Michael D. Paul
If you’ve attended any of our rare books workshops, or perused JPL Curates, you may recognize the name Dr. Michael D. Paul. His generous support made the first ten years of the Rare Books Initiative possible, and his passing on September 10th will be felt throughout our community, near and far. In honour of his passing, Eddie Paul, Associate Director of Special Collections, has shared a few words about Dr. Paul's impact.
recollections with the jpl podcast
Cover art for recollections with the JPL.
All Four Episodes Available Now!
If you were waiting for the mini-series to release before diving into the podcast, then now is the time for you. You can listen to them directly on our website at the link below, or wherever you find your podcasts.
current on-site exhibitions
110th anniversary EXHIBIT FOR the Jewish Public Library!
May - October, 2024
Jewish Public Library, Building Lobby
The Jewish Public Library opened its doors on May 1st, 1914 in a modest cold water flat at 669 rue St. Urbain with a small collection of 500 books. From the beginning, the Library was more than mere shelves and texts. It quickly became the meeting place for literary and cultural exchange, maintaining a link to the still flourishing Jewish communities in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while promoting the community’s growth in its new Quebec home. With the creation of the Yidishe Folks Universitet (YIFO) or the People’s University, the Library also became a centre for continuing education. Currently in its seventh physical home, the JPL continues to respond to the needs of immigrant groups through its collections, programmes, and services.
To mark this anniversary, our opening season of the re:collections podcast is a celebration of the JPL’s Jewish leftist roots in Montreal. This opening season weaves together interviews with scholars, activists, teachers, and fellow archivists that discuss topics such as Jewish immigration to Canada, Jewish languages and culture, labour and feminist movements in the 20th century, and the diversity of political ideologies that existed within the 'left'.
Not Quite Right: Politics and the History of the Jewish Left in Montreal
May - October, 2024
Jewish Public Library, across from circulation desk
Montreal Jews from many walks of life have long used their platforms to stand up for what they believe in and to make the world a better place. Jewish activists have been integral in Montreal, Quebec, and Canada’s progress towards fair labour conditions, gender equality and language diversity. In conjunction with our new podcast, re:collections, we have selected a sample of materials from the JPL’s Archives and Special Collections to illustrate some of these barriers, successes, and commemorations.
Der zamler is a Yiddish term meaning “the collector” and is related to the verb zamlen, which means “to gather.” In using this name, we join a long history of people dedicated to gathering and preserving Jewish culture around the world. A heartfelt thank-you goes to Sam Bick for the initial idea and to Anna Fishman Gonshor for providing the cultural context.
All non-archival photography, unless otherwise credited, by staff of the JPL Archives.
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