Somehow I missed the earlier posting and could not locate it in the archives.
When I was national president (1982-1984) the question arose of our relationship with/to the Church and Synagogue Library Association. This is what I recall - - Mae Weine (of blessed memory) told me that many years back, several persons organizing libraries at their churches contacted her because of her experience and expertise. The upshot what the creation of this church library association, paralleling AJL. They asked Mae about including synagogues in their organization, lest it appear exclusive. Her reply was that they were free to do so, but AJL existed for just this purpose. Over the years I have encountered only one or two synagogue librarians who were members of the Church and Synagogue Library Association; they were always members of AJL, I hasten to add. It makes sense, for before we became computerized and digitized, sharing information was not as easy. And for a synagogue library in an area remote from other synagogue libraries, many of the same questions and problems that arose in the neighboring church libraries made it practical to work together with them. Back when I was president, Mae Weine (who was a member of the Church and Synagogue Library Association) approached them and asked if there might be areas in which they and we could work together. There was never a clear reply because no one wanted to say "no," because each felt it was serving its members and constituency adequately. I hope this anecdotal evidence is helpful. Shabbat shalom - and a Joyful Passover Phil Miller Ha-Safran (The Librarian) Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
