Member Spotlight: Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies

by Christina Stoll, MLS

Spertus Institute (http://www.spertus.edu), was founded in 1924 as the College of Jewish Studies, with the primary role of educating teachers for local Hebrew schools.  The institute continued to add to its' services with the addition of a college, museum, archives, and the Asher Library (http://www.spertus.edu/asher_cja/about.php), one of North America’s largest Jewish libraries. The present date mission of the Spertus Institute is to “enhance understanding of the Jewish experience” through programming, exhibitions, educational and cultural opportunities. 

Spertus College

Spertus College offers eight post-graduate degrees including Jewish Studies, Jewish Education, and Jewish Professional Studies, as well as a Masters program in Nonprofit Management.  Additional information about the Spertus College can be found at http://www.spertus.edu/degreeprograms/index.php.

Spertus Museum 

Spertus Museum, which was established with a donation of Jewish ceremonial objects to the College in 1968, today contains even more Jewish art and artifacts, and supports on-going exhibits. A current exhibit “The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation” runs through April 13, 2008. The exhibit includes art work from 21century American Jews, which “explores contemporary notions of Jewish identify through the work of 16 artists living in the US.”  View a sampling of the art work and upcoming programming related to this exhibit at http://www.spertus.edu/exhibitions/newauthentics.php.

Spertus’s New Building

Spertus Institute recently moved from the space next door to it’s new building this past November 2007.  Currently located at 610 N. Michigan, the new structure, designed by the local firm of Krueck & Sexton, has been getting some architectural praise.  The library will appear in the February 2008 issue of the ILA Reporter, and has been contacted by ALA for their library architectural issue, in addition to being nominated for several architectural awards. 

One design element that the Spertus staff wanted to ensure was strongly communicated in the new building was the presence and connection of the library throughout the entire institute. Located on the 8th floor, the use of glass walls in the library allows visitors to either look down into the Spertus College space, or up to the 9th and 10th floors which contain museum displays, giving you visual cues that the library is not a standalone service, but connects seamlessly throughout the rest of the Institute’s services.

View from the Asher Library on the 8th floor into the 9th and 10th floors above of Spertus Institute.
 
The Asher Library & Archives

The Asher Library supports a collection of 110,000 volumes, 500 current periodicals, a Jewish music recordings collection, Jewish feature films and documentaries, and the Feinburg e-collection of 9 online database including the Encyclopedia Judaica, and Bar Ilan Responsa, a collection of Jewish law.

Library Director, Glenn Ferdman states that the library’s two main missions are to support the research and education needs of the Spertus College and Museum, and to serve as the Jewish Public Library for the Greater Chicago Area.

Supported by 9 staff members, the Asher Library is open to the general public, as well as provides borrowing privileges and access to online databases to Spertus students and members.  Visit the Spertus web site to learn more about becoming a member at http://www.spertus.edu/supportspertus/membership.php.
New features to the library include: 

• Expanded reading room overlooking Grant Park and Lake Michigan.
• Wi-Fi available throughout library.
• Electronic compact shelving.
• Custom audio/visual carrels for viewing videos and listening to musical recordings.

The Asher Library is also home to the Chicago Jewish Archives, which contains several special collections, ranging from the Spertus Institutes’ own historical documents, as well as letters, diaries, photographs, and artifacts from Jewish organizations, families, and individuals in Chicago.  A recent addition to the archives is the work of the late Seymour Simon, an alderman of the 40th ward in Chicago (1955-1961), an Illinois Appellate Court Judge (1974-1980), and a State Supreme Court Justice (1980-1988). After his passing in 2006, Simon’s family donated his life work to the Spertus Archives.  Examples of artifacts within his collection include political pins from the Richard M. Dale campaign in 1967 and name tags he wore to political events, including the Chicago Democrat Convention.

The Archives is currently working on finding aids, which it hopes to add to the library’s catalog, and a Digitizing Project supported by 2007 LSTA funding to digitize a portion of the Sentinel, Chicago’s only Jewish weekly newspaper, which had a circulation run from 1911 to 1996. New features of the Archives include a workroom which provides much needed processing space, 25 linear feet of compact shelving storage, and a Reading Room, which will open this Spring to members and the public.


The Spertus Archives and the new workroom space.

A rare book from the archives before processing, and a rare book after processing.

Joy Kingsolver, Director of the Chicago Jewish Archives is happy to answer questions either about the Archives or about donations to the Archives, as well as set up tours by appointment.   You can contact her at Archives@spertus.edu or at (312) 322-1741.

Questions about the Spertus Institute and Asher Library can be sent to Library Director Glenn Ferdman at gferdman@spertus.edu or (312) 322-1753.

Published February 6, 2008 in vol. 2, iss. 3 [View]