Established 1914 Province Québec Founded 1914 | Size 150,000-item Phone +1 514-345-2627 | |
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Type Public Library in Montreal, Quebec Items collected books, e-books, music, cds, periodicals, maps, genealogical archives, business directories, local history, Criteria for collection Judaica collection, general interest and popular fiction. Website Jewish Public Library web site Address 5151 Cote Ste. Catherine Rd., Montreal, Québec H3W 1M6, Canada Hours Closed today SaturdayClosedSunday10AM–5PMMonday10AM–9PMTuesday10AM–9PMWednesday10AM–9PMThursday10AM–6PMFriday10AM–1PM Similar Eleanor London Côte Sain, Westmount Public Library, Library Notre‑Da, BAnQ Grande Bibliothè, Hôtel Nelligan | ||
The Jewish Public Library (JPL) is a public library located in Montreal, and a constituent agency of Federation CJA. The library contains the largest circulating Judaica collection in North America. Founded in 1914, the JPL has close to 4000 members, and receives 700 to 800 visitors weekly. It is independent from the network of public libraries on the island of Montreal and receives its funding from the Montreal Jewish community, membership fees, donations and endowments.
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History
Founded in 1914, the library's early history is grounded in the Yiddish-speaking immigrants who fled Europe at the turn of the 20th century. The early homes of the JPL were in rented cold water flats on St. Urbain Street and, for 20 years, on the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Mount-Royal. In the early 1970s, the patterns of Jewish migration within the city had made it apparent that the library should move one more time within the proximity of other Jewish agencies and organizations. The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts, YM-YWHA Jewish community centre, Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre museum and all Federation CJA offices are currently situated in a campus structure on the corner of Cote Ste. Catherine Road and Westbury Avenue in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges sector.
Collection
Its collection of over 150,000-item is accessible online, including specialist collections in five languages. The Children’s Library offers programs and activities with more than 30,000 items for children up to 14 years of age. The JPL is a full service lending and research library. 75% of the collection is Judaica, 25% general interest and popular fiction.
The collection itself is oriented towards both academic and popular readerships, the Judaica collection being akin to most university library's Judaic collections. A significant membership of Montreal's orthodox Jews also use the library for religious and Jewish canonical works. The general collection attempts a diversity of popular and literary fiction, as well as an AV collection of first-run films on VHS and DVD, and audiobooks in Yiddish. Most recently, the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass. has converted many of these tapes onto compact disc in a joint project. The JPL's collections are primarily in English, French, Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian, with other languages comprising works in its special non-circulating collections. Special collections include:
Activities
The Library has an active programme of cultural events throughout the year. During Jewish Book Month (November) Andrei Codrescu, Cynthia Ozick, and Roger Kamenetz have all spoken at the library. It also stages dramatic readings in Hebrew, Yiddish musical evenings and Russian concerts and walking tours of Jewish Montreal are given throughout the year. First Fruits (spring) is an annual literary anthology of student writing from local high school students, and it awards the J.I. Segal prizes bi-annually to published writers of Jewish content in various languages.