American Jewish Historical Society

ACCESS TO MILLIONS OF ARTIFACTS REFLECTING THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PRESENCE IN THE U.S.

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE- SEE SCHEDULE O - LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE-THE SOCIETY WELCOMES ALL RESEARCHERS WHO WISH TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE FROM FIRST ARRIVAL IN THE AMERICAS TO THE PRESENT DAY. THE LIBRARY CONSISTS OF APPROXIMATELY 50,000 VOLUMES, INCLUDING BOTH BOOKS AND SERIALS (JOURNALS AND PERIODICALS). THE SOCIETY HOUSES APPROXIMATELY 2000 ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS AND HAS DEVELOPED FINDING AIDS FOR ITS PERSONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL HOLDINGS, AND THEY ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE. ACCESS TO THE PHYSICAL MATERIALS IS AVAILABLE 4 DAYS PER WEEK, AND SCHOLARS HAVE BEEN USING THE MATERIALS AT HIGH LEVELS BOTH PHYSICALLY AND VIA DIGITIZED VERSIONS. THE SOCIETY ALSO HAS EXPANDED OUR DIGITAL HOLDINGS AND DIGITIZATION PROGRAM, IN ORDER TO CONTINUALLY PROVIDE ACCESS TO OUR MATERIALS AND EXPAND OUR BASE OF USERS. FOR 2023, STATISTICS ON DIGITAL USE FOUND THAT FOR THE FULL YEAR THE TOP THREE COLLECTIONS SEARCHED WERE CAMP MASSAD ACCESSED 1,418 TIMES, THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS RECORDS ACCESSED 1,358 TIMES, AND THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN ACCESSED 851 TIMES. THESE ARE COLLECTIONS THAT HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF DIGITIZED CONTENT, DEMONSTRATING THE OVERALL VALUE OF THE SOCIETY DIGITIZATION PROGRAM AND THE ONGOING NEED TO CONTINUALLY EXPAND OUR DIGITAL OFFERINGS; IN 2023, AJHS ADDED 283,567 NEW IMAGES TO OUR DIGITAL ASSET MANAGER, MAKING THESE IMAGES AVAILABLE FREE TO THE PUBLIC, ALL OVER THE GLOBE.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS- SEE SCHEDULE O - PUBLIC PROGRAMS-IN 2023, THE SOCIETY HELD A NUMBER OF IN PERSON, ONLINE, AND HYBRID PUBLIC PROGRAMS REACHING AUDIENCES BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY. EVENTS INCLUDED A DAYLONG SYMPOSIUM THAT WAS LATER BROADCAST TO 10 THOUSAND PEOPLE ON JBS (JEWISH BROADCASTING SERVICE), BOOK TALKS FEATURING NEW SCHOLARSHIP, AND DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENINGS. THE SOCIETY CONTINUED ITS POPULAR "AT LUNCH" SERIES WITH JULIE SALAMON, WELCOMING GUESTS FROM THE FIELDS OF HISTORY, ENTERTAINMENT, JOURNALISM, AND MORE. ADDITIONALLY, THE SOCIETY CONTINUED ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GILDER LEHRMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN HISTORY TO TRAIN K-12 TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS ABOUT HOW TO BEST USE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS RELATED TO JEWISH AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. THE PROGRAM TRAINED 50 EDUCATORS AND REACHED ROUGHLY 5,000 STUDENTS NATIONWIDE.

AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORICAL JOURNAL SCHOLARLY JOURNAL OF PUBLISHED ARTICLES ON AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY THEMES. THE JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD PUBLISHED 4 VOLUMES IN 2023, RESUMING ITS FULL PRE-PANDEMIC PUBLISHING SCHEDULE. THE SOCIETY CONTINUES WORK ON OUR WEBSITE TO BE A DYNAMIC PUBLISHING PLATFORM, USED TO CROSSPOST JOURNAL ARTICLES AND ADDITIONAL CONTENT PRODUCED BY JOURNAL CONTRIBUTORS AND EDITORS, INCLUDING RECAPS OF JOURNAL ISSUES AS WELL AS OTHER DIGITAL MEDIA AND CONTENT RELATED TO AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY. THE WEBSITE CONTINUES TO SERVE AS A DIGITAL PORTAL TO THE SOCIETY'S CONTENT, FEATURING ARTICLES, VIDEOS, PAST PROGRAMS, AND FEATURED COLLECTIONS.