In a dramatic move highlighting its precarious financial situation, the NLI [National Library of Israel] closed its doors last week until further notice, although it seems this period won’t extend beyond August.
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Source: NLI
The tasks of the NLI are many. A central mission is to secure: 1) copies of all material published in Israel, in any language; 2) all publications on the subject of Israel, the Land of Israel, Judaism and the Jewish people published in any language in any country in the world; and 3) all material published in Hebrew or any of the languages spoken in the Jewish Diaspora (such as Yiddish and Ladino). By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the National Library. In 2001, the law was amended to include audio and video recordings and other non-print media.
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The library also houses the personal archives of philosophers Martin Buber and Gershom Scholem. It completed gathering the collection of the Max Brod archive in August 2019, which includes all the archives and legacy of famed writer Franz Kafka – for whom Brod was both friend and biographer – “because clearly, Kafka belongs here,” Blumberg points out.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
