** VACCINATION PASSPORT REQUIRED. SPACES ARE LIMITED. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. REGISTRATION BEGINS ON DECEMBER 2ND. FREE . ** 

Location: Auditorium                                                           

The Dr. Michael D. Paul Rare Books Initiative evolved out of the JPL’s 100th anniversary year to share the Library’s oldest collection of over 1500 volumes dating from 15th century. Typically, books this old are only accessible beneath glass cases in museums but because these books were produced to be part of the communities which used them, we have been bringing them out their temperature and humidity-controlled environment to students in elementary and high schools, CEGEPs, universities, synagogues, churches, and community centres for the last 7 years. These volumes are primarily (but not exclusively) grounded in Jewish content, and their range includes early Hebrew grammars, Bible, Talmud, Kabbalah, liturgical works, medieval science, philosophy, and a number of unusual texts whose printing histories have surprising and remarkable back stories. The languages of these texts (Hebrew, early Yiddish, Spanish, Latin, Catalan, German, Italian, French, Dutch and some we’re keeping as a surprise) are a global testament to the resilience of Jewish diaspora literary output. Two of the librarians from the Jewish Public Library’s will spend this informal workshop (which we see as more of a group conversation than a presentation) sharing these stories with you and offering you the opportunity to handle (albeit carefully) these texts, some of which are over 500 years old.

Eddie Paul is Senior Director of Library & Learning Services at the Jewish Public Library, and oversees the Dr. Michael D. Paul Rare Books Initiative which comprises a number of micro-projects around which this learning programme is centred.

Eddie Stone is the JPL’s principal cataloguer and reference librarian whose background research of these texts forms the grounding for many of the narratives included in the workshops

* IMPORTANT REGISTRATION NOTES:

Once registered you will get a confirmation email from LibCal.

You will get a reminder email 2 hours prior to the start of the program on the day of from LibCal.

Please make sure to check your inbox and junk folder for those emails.