[CALIBK12] German Library Director Addresses Jewish Librarians' Convention

[Susan Dubin]

German Library Director Addresses Jewish Librarians' Convention

Study of Books Stolen by Nazis

For immediate release--December, 2008
Barbara Schneider-Kempf, the Director General of the Berlin State 
Library in Germany, has accepted an invitation to speak at the 
Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention in Chicago in July, 
2009. She will present the findings of the Berlin State Library's 
study of books stolen by the Nazis and incorporated into German 
libraries. According to the German newspaper Die Welt, it is 
estimated that up to 150,000 of the books at Berlin's Central and 
Regional Library headquarters are thought to have been stolen by the 
Nazis from Jews, freemasons, social democrats, and others persecuted 
under Hitler's regime. A major aim of the new research project is to 
identify  volumes that can be restored to the original owners or their heirs.



"In keeping with our convention theme of 'Empowering Librarians for 
the 21st Century,' we owe this amazing opportunity to electronic 
communications," said AJL President Susan Dubin. "An AJL member read 
about the study online and posted a link to AJL's listserv; our 
convention committee read that posting and subsequently emailed the 
Berlin State Library. We're excited to be able to connect in this 
way, and we're so pleased that we'll soon be connecting in person."



The Association of Jewish Libraries' 44th annual convention will be 
held July 5-8, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. Librarians, archivists and 
scholars from numerous disciplines will meet to share their interest 
in Judaica librarianship and related areas. Ms. Schneider-Kempf's 
presentation, "Stolen Books: The Third Reich's Exchange Center and 
the Prussian State Library,1933-1945," will be a highlight of the 
convention, and will complement the keynote address by Northwestern 
University scholar Peter Hayes who has written numerous books on the 
Holocaust. For more information about AJL and its convention, visit 
www.jewishlibraries.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT PR at JEWISHLIBRARIES.ORG

Susan Dubin
AJL President

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