Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:38:00
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| Article by:
Adrienne Johnson
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By Adrienne Johnson
The building at 1835 Ellis St.
is long, low and has little
signage. A black, spiked gate bars
the entrance. Tinted windows
obscure the interior. And an
intercom frames the doorway,
bearing only the initials of the
organization within: BJE.
The Bureau of Jewish
Education’s Jewish Community
Library is a treasure hidden in
plain sight, open to the pub-
lic. Its collection of more than
30,000 books, CDs and DVDs
boasts the most thorough and
complete compilation of Jewish-
related media in the Bay Area.
Howard Freedman, the read-
er services librarian of the Jewish
Community Library, said that
despite the library’s uninviting
exterior – which is designed to
discourage anti-Semitism – the
center “serves the whole com-
munity, whether Jewish or not
…and everything is available free
to the public.” Unlike synagogue
collections or the limited selec-
tions of Jewish material in the
San Francisco public libraries,
the Jewish Community Library
draws its material from the entire
range of Jewish thought – as
Freedman puts it, “from athe-
ism to orthodoxy, and politically
from left to right.”
A former podiatry school,
the Ellis site has hosted the
Jewish Community High School
as well as the library since 2002.
Freedman said although San
Francisco Jewry is dispersed
throughout the city, the site does
hold some echoes of a thriving
Jewish past. Before the bulk of
San Franciscan Jews lived in the
Richmond and Sunset districts,
parts of the Western Addition
were thriving Jewish neighbor-
hoods with delis, kosher restau-
rants and a Judaica.
The library’s far-ranging col-
lection reflects the history of the
area as well as the makeup of
international Jewry. With books
in Hebrew, Yiddish, French and
English, the collection aims for
a wide readership. A Russian-
language section also appeals
to recent Russian-Jewish émi-
grés who are often unilingual
or uncomfortable reading books
in English. The collection is also
balanced topically, with an even
mix of media on theology, cul-
ture, history and literature. Books
range from gay Torah commen-
tary to Passover Haggadahs to
kosher cookbooks. Authors, both
Jewish and gentile, are included
in the library without consider-
ation of their faith although all
material bears some relation to
the Jewish experience.
In addition to its media col-
lection, the library is an edu-
cational hub of frequent talks,
workshops and book events.
Events range from demon-
strations of traditional Jewish
klezmer music to genealogy
workshops to children’s story-
telling. The Jewish film screen-
ing is a popular monthly event;
past movies have been cinematic
adaptations of Yiddish books.
A paper-cutting art workshop
also drew crowds of people who
learned how to making lacy cut-
outs of intricate floral designs
with Exacto knives and con-
struction paper. All events are
free of charge and open to the
public.
Freedman describes the
“book-club-in-a-box” as the
library’s “most popular services.”
By offering “12 copies of over 70
different titles, the book group
doesn’t have to buy the book,
they can just borrow it.” The
library also offers trained facili-
tators to help a book group get
started by offering both practical
and literary advice.
Additionally, the library
publishes a seasonal calendar,
which offers recommendations
and critiques of contemporary
Jewish books. Recent acquisitions
include such books as a history of
Palestinian Zionism, an analysis
of the Jewish superhero and a
collection of Yiddish recipes.
Rotating art exhibits attest
to the fact that the Jewish
Community Library is truly a
cultural hub. The current exhibit
showcases historical “omers” or
calendars that resemble abacuses
and are used to measure the grain,
which Jews were commanded to
bring to the Temple during the
Feast of Weeks. Another contem-
poraneous exhibit displays a series
of Yiddish comic strips, many of
which are original drawings.
All events and art exhibits
are free and open to the public;
library membership is also free.
The library is open from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday,
noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday, noon
to 8 p.m. Thursday and noon
to 4 p.m. Sunday. It is located
at 1835 Ellis St. between Scott
and Pierce. If driving, you may
enter enclosed parking structure
on Pierce by buzzing the inter-
com. If a pedestrian, simply buzz
the intercom to indicate you are
going to the library.
For more information, visit
www.bjest.org/library.htm.
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