Located on the campus of Hampshire College and near the Eric Carle Museum is another center dedicated to books. However, unlike children and picture books of the former, this location contains perhaps the largest collection of material in New England dedicated to the preservation of the Yiddish language and culture.
The story of the Yiddish Book Center began in 1980 with graduate student of Yiddish literature, Aaron Lansky. During his studies, he realized many invaluable and irreplaceable Yiddish books were being discarded by American born Jews who were unable to read the language of their Yiddish speaking ancestors. Lansky set forth to save these books and when the center originally opened, scholars estimated around 70,000 Yiddish books were still left in the world and recoverable.
Lansky created a network of volunteer book collectors called Zamlers and within six months, the center’s staff surpassed the estimated number and recovered over a million volumes from all over the world. Some books were donated by their original owners while others were saved from destruction by being salvaged from demolition sites and dumpsters. The center continues to receive thousands of books every year and the collection further grows.
Yiddish was the primary language spoken by European Jews for centuries which was almost pushed to the brink of extinction following the Second World War and the exodus of Jews moving to other parts of the world. The center not only contains Yiddish books, but also films, music, artwork, artifacts, and much more. Whether you are a speaker of Yiddish, a learner, or someone who is curious about the language or culture, the center is welcoming to all.
