The Yiddush Book Center Expands

Sorry, I have not been at this for a while. I think I'll start up again if you don't mind...

This is dated December 3, 2008
You might have noticed the huge amount of construction going on behind the Yiddish Book Center. You are not alone. We were curious to know what is going on back there, and now you can learn too!
The new building (built with the same materials and in the same style as the old one) is going to be home to a huge book repository, a performance hall, a number of classrooms, and a kosher kitchen among other things.
The concept that became the Yiddish Book Center was functional in 1980, but the building that we know and love was opened in 1997. Since its inception, they have collected over a million volumes, many of which have been redistributed to libraries around the world. There are somewhere between thirteen and 15,000 diverse titles in the collection. Most of the books needing to be rescued and recovered from North America have been already, but shipments are still coming in. The rescue operation is practically over, but the education is just beginning.
One of the main purposes of the new space is to educate. There is a Yiddish revival movement happening now both in academia and among those Jews who might be as many as four generations removed from their Yiddish-speaking eastern European fore-bearers. The Yiddish Book Center plans to house adult education, college programs, and intensive Yiddish-language-learning programs in the new building. These classes will be taught by on-site and visiting faculty. Nancy Sherman, vice-president at the Center, stated, “We see this as a school for Jewish culture. There is a whole world of Jewish secular knowledge and information [for us to teach here].”
One of the most important additions of the new building will be the book repository. This is going to be a huge temperature and humidity controlled space to house about 300,000 volumes on site. Currently, the center only houses about 90,000 books in the present building. The rest are stored off-site in a storage facility. The space that the books are currently in will become an exhibition space. There will be educational information about authors, printing materials, and discoveries in the field, as well as a replica of an eastern European reading library.
Along with building expansions, there will also be program expansions. The Book Center plans on expanding the successful summer internship program. They will also be offering online courses credited through UMASS in Yiddish language and literature. Another plan for the not-so-distant future is making the text of 13,000 scanned volumes available for free online through the Open Content Alliance.
The Yiddish Book Center wants to see more student interest and attendance. There is a free newsletter, programs every, and most importantly, free admission. As Nancy Sherman says, “It's all about students from here on in.” You can find out more at www.yiddishbookcenter.org.