Association of Jewish Libraries
Encyclopedia
The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) is an international organization dedicated to the production, collection, organization and dissemination of Judaic resources and library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

/media/information service. AJL has members in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and over 22 other countries.

It was formed through a merger of two organizations: The Jewish Librarians Association, founded in 1946, which concerned itself with collections of Judaica in academic, archival or research institutions, and The Jewish Library Association, founded in 1962, which concerned itself with collections in the synagogue, school and community, as well as other smaller libraries and media centres.

Publications

The Association of Jewish Libraries publishes several serials including a scholarly journal Judaica Librarianship and the electronic quarterly AJL News and AJL Reviews. AJL also has an electronic mailing list called Hasafran (Hebrew for the librarian).

Awards

The Association of Jewish Libraries awards the Sydney Taylor Book Award
Sydney Taylor Book Award
The Sydney Taylor Book Award recognizes the best in Jewish children's literature. Medals are awarded annually for outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience. The award was established in 1968 by the Association of Jewish Libraries. It is named in memory of Sydney Taylor,...

 (external link) annually for books that authentically portray the Jewish experience in children's literature, and the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award for the most promising unpublished Judaic manuscript for children.

The Association also awards the Judaica Reference and Bibliography Awards for outstanding scholarly reference works and bibliographies.

Conventions

The AJL Convention, held annually, is a valuable way for Judaica librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

s to share ideas, learn, and network with their peers.

Locations of past conventions

  • 2011 (46th) Montreal
    Montreal
    Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

    , Quebec, Canada
  • 2010 (45th) Seattle, Washington
    Seattle, Washington
    Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

  • 2009 (44th) Chicago, Illinois
  • 2008 (43rd) Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

  • 2007 (42nd) Phoenix, Arizona
    Phoenix, Arizona
    Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

  • 2006 (41st) Cambridge, Massachusetts
    Cambridge, Massachusetts
    Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

  • 2005 (40th) Oakland, CA
  • 2004 (39th) Brooklyn
    Brooklyn
    Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

    , NY
  • 2003 (38th) Toronto
    Toronto
    Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

    , Ont., Canada
  • 2002 (37th) Denver, CO
  • 2001 (36th) La Jolla, CA
  • 2000 (35th) Washington, DC
  • 1999 (34th) Boca Raton, FL
  • 1998 (33rd) Philadelphia, PA
  • 1997 (32nd) Cleveland
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

    , OH
  • 1996 (31st) Toronto
    Toronto
    Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

    , Ont., Canada
  • 1995 (30th) Chicago
    Chicago
    Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

    , IL
  • 1994 (29th) Atlanta, GA
  • 1993 (28th) New York, NY
  • 1992 (27th) Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California
    Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

    , CA
  • 1991 (26th) Miami Beach, FL
  • 1990 (25th) Jerusalem, Israel
    Israel
    The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

  • 1989 (24th) Washington, DC
  • 1988 (23rd) Kansas City
    Kansas City, Missouri
    Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

    , MO
  • 1987 (22nd) Livingston
    Livingston, New Jersey
    Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...

    , NJ
  • 1986 (21st) Montreal
    Montreal
    Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

    , QC, Canada
  • 1985 (20th) Cleveland
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

    , OH
  • 1984 (19th) Atlanta, GA
  • 1983 (18th) Long Beach
    Long Beach, California
    Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

    , CA
  • 1982 (17th) Columbus
    Columbus, Ohio
    Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

    , OH
  • 1981 (16th) Liberty
    Liberty, New York
    Liberty, New York relates to two locations in Sullivan County, New York, United States:*Liberty , New York*Liberty , New York...

    , NY
  • 1980 (15th) Philadelphia, PA
  • 1979 (14th) Cincinnati, OH
  • 1978 (13th) San Francisco, CA
  • 1977 (12th) Waltham
    Waltham, Massachusetts
    Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...

    , MA
  • 1976 (11th) Montreal
    Montreal
    Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

    , QC, Canada
  • 1975 (10th) Miami Beach, FL
  • 1974 (9th) Chicago
    Chicago
    Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

    , IL
  • 1973 (8th) Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California
    Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

    , CA
  • 1972 (7th) Toronto
    Toronto
    Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

    , Ont., Canada
  • 1971 (6th) Jerusalem, Israel
    Israel
    The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

  • 1970 (5th) New York, NY
  • 1969 (4th) Atlantic City, NJ
  • 1968 (3rd) Cincinnati, OH
  • 1967 (2nd) Boston, MA
  • 1966 (1st) Philadelphia, PA

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