National Yiddish Book Center Inc

THE YIDDISH BOOK CENTER IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WORKING TO RECOVER, CELEBRATE, AND REGENERATE YIDDISH AND MODERN JEWISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE.

CULTURAL RESCUE AND PRESERVATION - THE CENTER HAS PLACED THE FULL CONTENT OF MORE THAN 13,000 TITLES ONLINE THROUGH THE NON-PROFIT INTERNET ARCHIVE, MAKING YIDDISH LITERATURE THE SINGLE MOST ACCESSIBLE LITERATURE IN HISTORY. THE BOOKS HAVE BEEN DOWNLOADED FOR FREE MORE THAN 2 MILLION TIMES. THE CENTER IS NOW COLLABORATING WITH THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL, YIVO, AND THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY TO DIGITIZE THE REST OF YIDDISH LITERATURE ALONG WITH JOURNALS AND PERIODICALS. THE CENTER ALSO COLLECTS ORAL HISTORIES THROUGH ITS WEXLER ORAL HISTORY PROJECT. NOW A GROWING COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 1,200 INTERVIEWS, THESE ARE AVAILABLE ON THE CENTER'S WEBSITE AND ON YOUTUBE FOR SCHOLARS, TEACHERS, AND OTHERS. THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT ALSO CREATES SHORT FILMS BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS COLLECTED. THE CENTER CONTINUES TO RESCUE YIDDISH BOOKS AND DISTRIBUTES THESE BOOKS TO LIBRARIES, SCHOLARS, AND STUDENTS. THESE MATERIALS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE ONLINE.

VISITOR AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS - WELCOMES VISITORS AND OFFERED PERMANENT AND TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS AND INTERPRETIVE TOURS. THE CENTER OFFERS VIRTUAL PUBLIC PROGRAMS WHICH STREAM LIVE EVERY THURSDAY ON ZOOM AND FACEBOOK LIVE TO AUDIENCES OF 500-1000 PER PROGRAM. A NEW PERMANENT CORE EXHIBIT IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT. THE EXHIBIT, YIDDISH: A GLOBAL CULTURE, WILL OPEN IN 2023.

EDUCATION THE CENTER OFFERS SEVERAL MAJOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR UNDERGRADUATES AND RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES. THE 7-WEEK STEINER SUMMER PROGRAM INCLUDES 18 STUDENTS WHO STUDY YIDDISH LANGUAGE AND MODERN JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURE. THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR COLLEGE GRADUATES IS A 12-MONTH PROGRAM FOR RECENT GRADUATES WHO PARTICIPATE IN A VARIETY OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECTS INCLUDING BOOK DIGITIZATION, ORAL HISTORY, EXHIBIT DEVELOPMENT, ON-SITE AND ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT, AND THE CENTER'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAGAZINE, PAKN TREGER. THE GREAT JEWISH BOOKS PROGRAM IS OFFERED TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO SPEND ONE WEEK ENGAGED IN AN INTENSE EXPLORATION OF JEWISH LITERATURE. THE CENTER ALSO HELD THE GREAT JEWISH BOOKS PROGRAM FOR RABBIS AND SYNAGOGUE EDUCATORS AS A WEEKLONG VIRTUAL PROGRAM. YIDDISH SCHOOL, A WEEKLONG RESIDENTIAL YIDDISH PROGRAM FOR ADULTS TAKES PLACE EVERY SPRING AND ONLINE YIDDISH CLASSES ARE OFFERED ANNUALLY. THE CENTER CREATED A NEW BEGINNING YIDDISH LANGUAGE TEXTBOOK WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN SUMMER 2020 AND HAS SOLD MORE THAN 2500 COPIES. BASED ON THIS TEXTBOOK, THE CENTER TRAINS AND MENTORS YIDDISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS AND IS CREATING A CERTIFICATION PROCESS.

TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATIONS - THE CENTER PUBLISHES AND DISTRIBUTES AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAGAZINE, PAKN TREGER, WHICH ENHANCES ITS EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH. THE MAGAZINE IS SENT TO MORE THAN 20,000 MEMBERS AND FRIENDS. THE CENTER ALSO PUBLISHES A DIGITAL TRANSLATION ISSUE OF PAKN TREGER. WHITE GOAT PRESS IS THE CENTER'S PUBLISHING IMPRINT WITH A MISSION OF BRINGING NEW YIDDISH LITERATURE TO ENGLISH READERS. THE CENTER HAS A TRANSLATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR ASPIRING YIDDISH TRANSLATORS AND HAS TRAINED MORE THAN 80 TRANSLATORS TO DATE. THE CENTER ALSO REGULARLY PUBLISHES NEW CONTENT ON ITS WEBSITE AND DISTRIBUTES THIS CONTENT THROUGH EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA. THE CENTER HAS A NEW E-PUBLICATION, "THE WEEKLY READER" TO CONNECT AUDIENCES TO ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, PODCASTS AND MORE FROM THE CENTER'S DIGITAL COLLECTIONS.