Dear Haim-- You are just where I was about twenty years ago! I had completed a Ph.D. in Rabbinical literature and enrolled in an M.S. in Information Studies program focussing on cataloging and rare books.
So far as I know there are no active programs in Judaica Librarianship in existence. There used to be one which was a joint program of Gratz College and of Drexel University in Philadelphia. I don't know if it still exists. If any of my colleagues can correct me on this I would be pleased to hear from them. I suggest you rely on your classes for the technical aspects of rare books and the "nuts and bolts" of librarianship (cataloging, reference, collection development, etc.)and depending on your background and interests read all you can about the classical sources of Judaism (Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, etc.) on your own. Given the fact that you are emphasizing rare books and manuscripts I assume that you are looking to a career in academic librarianship either in a large research university or in a smaller archive, museum, or repository. Good luck! I wish I could give you more encouragement, but given the present state of the economy jobs seem to be few and far between. My advice is to have a strong seond "suit" besides Judaica which you can also list on your c.v. Pick something that interests you and which is a popular and known collecting area, like some area of American history or modern literature. If you can "weave" it into your Judaic interests so much the better. Well, now I'll "shut up" and let my colleagues have at it. Best, Dan Rettberg Daniel J. Rettberg, Ph.D. Rare Book and Manuscript Bibliographer Klau Library Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion 3101 Clifton Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45220-2488 <mailto:drettb...@huc.edu>drettb...@huc.edu --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@osu.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
