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The Judaica bookplate was created by a local Gainesville artist, Becky Gaver.
With holdings of over 120,000 volumes, and digital collections comprising more than 250,000 pages of content, the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica at the University of Florida, is considered the foremost Jewish studies research collection in the southeastern United States. In terms of many of its scarce late 19th to early 20th century imprints, it ranks among the top 20 academic libraries in the world. Furthermore, many thousands of its titles in Hebrew and Yiddish are held by less than 10 libraries in the United States.
The Library was built on the core collection of Rabbi Leonard C. Mishkin of Chicago which, at the time of its acquisition in 1977, was the largest personal library of Judaica and Hebraica in the United States. The range and depth of Mishkin's collection was described by Harvard Bibliographer Charles Berlin as "superb". The UF Libraries received the first National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant awarded to a United States Research Library in order to partially underwrite Rabbi Leonard C. Mishkin’s 40,000 volume library. The NEH Challenge Grant was matched by the first State of Florida Quality Improvement Funds.
Formally dedicated in March 1981, the Library was named for Isser and Rae Price, whose sons, Jack and Samuel Price of Jacksonville, Florida, established a fund to support sustained development of its collections. The Price family gift was the largest single gift ever made to the libraries at that time, and it was the first time that a special collection in the University Library had been endowed.
Today library patrons will find a Jewish studies collection of notable depth, scope and singularity. Its diversified holdings in English, Hebrew, and other languages support scholarship in virtually every aspect of the Jewish experience. Materials relevant to the ancient, medieval and modern periods are available to students and researchers alike, as they are to any reader who possesses a curiosity about the Jewish People, whose cultures, societies, and influences span over 3,000 years of recorded history. Readers can consult the circulating collection in Library West; rare books can be viewed by appointment in the Judaica Suite.
Facts and Services
Location: The Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica is situated in Library West, on the Ground Floor, Northwest Corner. The library's rare books are held in the Judaica Suite in Smathers Library (2nd floor).
Curator: Rebecca Jefferson
Judaica Suite, Smathers Library (East)
352-273-2865
Hours for the circulating collection: Schedules are posted on the Libraries' home page at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ps/hours. Service hours may change during holiday periods, summer sessions, and intersessions. Out-of-town visitors should contact Judaica Library staff in advance of their visit to be sure that materials you need to work with are accessible.
Hours for the Judaica Suite: The Judaica Suite may be booked for tours or to consult the collections by appointment. Please contact the curator, Rebecca Jefferson (rjefferson@ufl.edu) for further details.
Borrower information: The collections are available for the use of University of Florida faculty, students, and staff, who use the Gator-1 identification card as their library card. Information about borrowing and other privileges can be found here: https://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/accesssupport/circ, or, by telephoning the Circulation Desk at Library West: (352) 273-2525.
Locating Materials: Price Library materials are listed in the University of Florida Libraries' Catalog. For access to Florida Jewish newspapers, uncataloged serials, ephemera (calendars, booksellers' catalogs, broadsides, temple bulletins), and vertical file materials, consult a Judaica staff member. Scarce and rare books of Hebraica and Judaica are available for consultation in the Judaica Suite and Special Collections Research Room located in the Smathers Library building. Please consult either the Curator or Library Coordinator for Jewish Heritage for access to these non-circulating items. Microform resources supporting Jewish Studies and Judaica Library materials are primarily housed in the UF Libraries' Microfilm area on the 3rd floor of Library West. Special Collections (archives and manuscripts) can be discovered through our finding aids.
Borrowing Materials: With the exception of reference books, electronic computer media, scarce and rare materials, microforms, unbound periodicals, and brittle materials, the Judaica Library's cataloged holdings generally circulate to users according to policies established in concert with the Smathers Libraries Circulation Policies (https://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/accesssupport/circ). The George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida is a member of the OCLC and ARL bibliographic networks. Inter-library loan and photocopy services are available, though some restrictions and denials-of-loan may apply to individual title requests if those materials are scarce, brittle, are on Course Reserve status, or are in-process for library treatments by UF Libraries departments. Out-of-town borrowers should also consult their local library's policies and instructions regarding inter-library loan requests.
Copying Services: Library patrons can use the self-service photocopy machines in Library West to copy materials (http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/librarywest/using_printing.html). The physical condition of fragile materials may necessitate copying or filming by a trained member of the UF Libraries' staff. Photocopy and loan requests made via Inter-library Loan may be restricted, or denied, if materials are brittle.
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