SEPTEMBER 2024
der zamler
JPL’S NEWSLETTER FOR ALL THINGS
ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
special event announcement
Event poster featuring a cutout from an archival image of a group portrait of refugees looking out train window, post-World War II Europe, from the Joint Distrubution Committee, c. 1950s. Photograph Collection, ID: 1255_PR008978.
Behind the Curtain:
Meet the cast of
recollections with the JPL
Thursday September 19, 2024, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Museum of Jewish Montreal, 5220 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Event in English
We’re pulling back the curtain and reuniting the voices behind recollections with the JPL – the Jewish Public Library’s new limited series podcast on the history and progression of the Jewish Left in Montreal. Join us for a night of cocktails and conversation in celebration of this broadcast and the storied history of the Jewish Left. The evening will include a live discussion with our podcast panel and guests are encouraged to share their experiences of the Left for a chance at a special shout-out in episode five. There will also be a curated selection of archival materials related to the history of the Jewish Left in Montreal, presented gallery-style for your enjoyment.
Generously sponsored by the Aikins family, in loving memory of George Aikins.
news from the stacks
The cover of the first issue of the Unzer Sztyme, handwritten by David Rosenthal.
Unzer Sztyme now available on our searchable catalogue!
We are happy to report that all 24 issues and two special issues of the Unzer Sztyme have been digitized and are available on our searchable catalogue. Unzer Sztyme, which translates to Our Voice, is a Yiddish language publication featuring first-hand accounts of life in the Bergen Belsen Displaced Persons Camp. This publication shows an important moment in Jewish history, and the JPL has one of the few known complete sets in the world. Stay tuned for programming in spring 2025 that showcases these publications and the translation work that has been underway to make them more accessible.
In other news, Leah and Lucy have begun tackling the JPL Fonds; it is ourinstitutional collection, and one of the largest in the archive. Most of our archives team has only been here a few short years, and it's exciting to get acquainted with the history of our institution in such an intimate way!
After an engaging conference on the Future of Libraries and Archives at Library and Archives Canada on September 5th. From left to right: Maya Pasternak, Director of the Jewish Public Library Archives; Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada; Ellen Belshaw, JPL Education Outreach Coordinator, Ezell Carter, JPL Digital Outreach Coordinator, Lucy Pauker, JPL Processing Archivist.
In the first week of September, our team had the opportunity to embark on some professional development. Leah took an Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) workshop on web archiving, where she learned about WARC files, and has started web archiving some JPL online exhibits. Meanwhile, Maya, Lucy, Ezell and Ellen went to the Library and Archives Canada symposium, Future of Archives and Libraries: How Technology and AI are (re)Shaping Heritage Institutions. Delegates from across Canada, as well as Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia presented their research throughout the day. Librarians and Archivists in Australasia are known to be at the cutting edge of addressing current issues in the field, so we were excited to hear what they had to share! We also had the good fortune to chat with many other professionals in our field, notably Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Leslie Weir, pictured above. Weir was excited to hear about the work we've been doing at the JPL Archives, and we look forward to hosting her in the future.
Bound copies of Yiddish daily newspapers housed in the Special Collections.
Ezell and Ellen have been busy preparing for our Behind the Curtain event next week, including digging through the Archives and Special Collections for materials to display during the evening. The bound Yiddish newspapers above won't be there, but we couldn't resist sharing them with you here! You'll have to come to the event to see what items were selected.
Yiddish is never far from our hearts here at the JPL, especially now that we have made our translate-a-thon program a monthly affair. 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!
RECOLLECTIONS with the JPL PODCAST
Screenshot of JPL-Curates.org featuring all four episodes of recollections with the JPL out now.
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.
FOR THE RECORD:
A BLOG ABOUT THE WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE, AND HOW (OF ARCHIVING)
Mastering the recollections with the JPL podcast at Studio Parc.
Why did we make a podcast?
Our podcast, recollections with the JPL, has been such a part of our lives these last months, the theme song plays in our dreams. But why oh why did we embark on this endeavour in the first place? Read the blog to find out more!
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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Jewish Public Library
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