Why connect with staff?
Image: New York Public Library Central Information
Dorot Jewish Division staff can:
- Suggest Jewish Studies resources available through the New York Public Library
- Help you figure out effective search techniques for your topic
- Provide individualized assistance for your research project
Please note that we are unable to assist with the following:
- Translations from Yiddish, Hebrew, or any other language
- Religious advice
To connect with staff, email us at dorotjewish@nypl.org. Depending on your inquiry, staff may suggest setting up a 30-minute consultation.
For assistance with specific topics, explore our Research Guides, linked below. These guides, curated by our staff, address many of the questions we frequently receive.
What is a research consultation?
A research consultation is a 30-minute appointment to discuss a specific research question or topic with a member of our staff. We offer three options:
- Online, using Google Meet (camera optional)
- Telephone
- In-person
This is a great option for someone who is beginning a project and wants some guidance on how to navigate the Library. It’s also a good option for someone who has been doing research elsewhere and is now coming to NYPL for the first time.
Why is it better to schedule a consultation instead of just coming right to the reference desk and talking to us? Our staff can answer questions at the reference desk, but we can’t conduct extensive consultations with you there, because it is a quiet study room and we are assisting other patrons. Likewise, the phone in our reading room is only to be used for very brief questions.
Instead, if you’d like to have an extended conversation with a reference librarian, you can sign up for a consultation where we will discuss your research project, answer your questions, and give you suggestions on where to start. During a consultation, you’ll have our undivided attention and we'll have time to do some research in advance and figure out which sources will suit your project’s needs.
To schedule a consultation, please use this calendar.
Research Guides
Research guides, like this one, are staff-written guides intended to provide advice and suggest sources for people researching a particular topic. Below is a complete listing of all the Jewish Studies-focused research guides created by NYPL staff.
- Electronic Resources on Jewish Studies at the Dorot Jewish DivisionResearch guide to electronic Jewish Studies content at NYPL, including databases, ejournals, ebooks, historical newspapers, and free websites.
- Holocaust Research, Education, and Remembrance Online (NYPL)Online resources for Holocaust education and remembrance, including research, curriculum, and multimedia resources.
- Jewish CookbooksGuide to 2500+ global Jewish cookbooks in the Library's collection.
- Jewish Studies in the Manuscripts and Archives divisionThis research guide provides an introduction to collections related to Jewish life in the United States from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries that are held by the Manuscripts and Archives Division.
- LGBTQ+ JewishThis guide covers LGBTQ+ Jewish research from scholarly, communal, and personal perspectives.
- Reading Jewish Newspapers at the New York Public LibraryGuide to current and historical Jewish newspapers in the Library's collection.
- Synagogues and Jewish Communal InstitutionsGuide to information about Jewish communal institutions and synagogues at NYPL and online.
- Yiddish ResearchYiddish Studies guide to general resources, article and books, folklore, genealogy, linguistics, literature, music and dance, oral history, theater, film, radio, translation and student resources.
- Yizkor BooksGuide to 700 yizkor (Holocaust memorial) books, largely digitized by NYPL and the Yiddish Book Center.
Collection Guides/Finding Aids
These collection guides were created in the past, before we began using the current Research Guide format. They contain useful information about the collection, but they are NOT currently being maintained, and have not been updated in many years. Please always use the Research Catalog to verify the availability of our collections.
- American Jewish Committee Oral History CollectionFinding aid to collection, with links to transcripts in NYPL Digital Collections.
- Books on Jewish Cookery in The New York Public LibraryJewish cookbooks in the Dorot Jewish Division, organized by topic, region, and place of publication.
- How to Find Hebrew BooksGuide created by Anne-Marie Belinfante.
- Index to Zalman Zylbercweig's Leksikon fun Yidishn TeaterAlphabetical name index to the Lexicon of Yiddish Theater by Zalmen Zylbercweig.
- World Jewish Newspapers & Periodicals on MicrofilmList of microfilmed Jewish periodicals from around the world, organized alphabetically, and by region, language, and date.
- Yiddish Theater Manuscript PlaysAlphabetical finding aid to Yiddish play manuscripts in the Dorot Jewish Division (PDF).