Hi Amy,
My EJ review below appeared in the September 2007 issue of CHOICE:
Encyclopaedia Judaica, ed. by Fred Skolnik with Michael Berenbaum. 2nd
ed. Keter Publishing House Ltd., Jerusalem/Thomson Gale, 2007. 22v
bibl index afp ISBN 0-02-865928-7, $1995.00; ISBN 9780028659282,
$1995.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2007sep CHOICE.
This award-winning second edition (EJ2), an update to the 1972 EJ (CH,
Oct'72), has already attained a secure place in the reference pantheon.
From 1973 through 1994, ten yearbooks and two collected supplements
were issued (see CH, Sep'95, 33-0018); a CD-ROM version became
available in 1997 with 100,000 hyperlinks and other features (CH,
Jan'98, 35-2442). EJ2 has expanded from 16 to 22 volumes, and contains
22,000 entries; 9,000 have been retained from EJ1, 10,000 have been
revised and/or updated, and about 2,600 are totally new. The editors
have retained the important articles on Jewish scholarship and added
many entries on contemporary Jewish life and culture. While the first
edition, published in Jerusalem, was criticized by a few scholars for
an Israel-centric scholarly bias, the second edition was overseen by
a joint editorial board composed of both Israeli and Diaspora scholars,
who tried to provide more balanced coverage. Furthermore, the new
edition redresses a problem ignored by many scholars three decades ago:
the omission of women and gender issues. Appointed associate editor to
ensure that EJ2 would cover this major topic, Judith Baskin
commissioned more than 500 new, revised, or supplemental entries.
Even though the new edition provides many new entries and updated
information, some library users and scholars may note the absence of a
few EJ1 features: a 100-year Jewish calendar, pottery illustrations,
and some interesting essays published in several yearbook supplements.
EJ2 also has greatly reduced the number of photographs and
illustrations. The editors decided to include only six pages of color
illustrations in each volume to provide more space for entries; readers
may miss the black-and-white illustrations that visually enhanced many
EJ1 essays. Nevertheless, the new edition offers a very helpful new
feature: an abbreviations section and glossary in every EJ2 volume. A
random sampling of entries also indicates that the writing is livelier
and occasionally more informative than some earlier edition articles.
The online edition provides mostly easy access to full-text or PDF
versions from basic or advanced search pages. One glitch: the limit
field is geared toward libraries that subscribe to other Gale Virtual
Reference Library e-books. Nonsubscribers may be confused about
limiting a search when EJ is the only choice available. Nevertheless,
the ease of keyword searching is a vast improvement over the clunkiness
of using a print index to find citations spread across 22 volumes. EJ2
complements but does not supplant EJ1, and libraries owning the first
edition should shelve the two sets together so they are easily
accessible. Selectors wanting to enhance their collection of other
Jewish encyclopedias should consult the outstanding volume by Shimeon
Brisman, A History and Guide to Judaic Encyclopedias and Lexicons (CH,
Apr'88). Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates through
faculty/researchers.
-- D. Altschiller, Boston University
Donald Altschiller
Mugar Memorial Library
Boston University
Boston, MA 02215
Quoting Amy Wissoker Graham awgra...@comcast.net:
Collective wisdom (I really do love how that describes this group),
I just received an e-mail offering the 2nd edition of Encyclopedia
Judaica for $995. Clearly a bargain over the list price. My question
is to those of you who purchased this, especially synagogue
libraries. Do you feel that it's been a worthwhile purchase? Would
you recommend buying it?
Thanks in advance,
Amy Graham
Amy Wissoker Graham
Ray Doblitz Memorial Library
Congregation Ohev Shalom
Wallingford, PA
awgra...@comcast.net
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