Genealogy in the Jewish Library: An Update

In 1992, Judaica Librarianship featured an article by Zachary Baker, entitled “What We Owe the Genealogists: Genealogy and the Judaica Reference Librarian.” He followed it up in 2003 with an article in Slavic & East European Information Resources entitled “Resources on the Genealogy of Eastern European Jews.” The present article provides an update on the resources available to Jewish genealogists today, with particular emphasis on print and online resources that are recommended for the smaller Judaica library. It lists some of the sources in Baker’s article that have been updated and some that have gone online. It describes JewishGen, Routes to Roots, the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute, the Family History Library, the International Tracing Service, and PERSI, the comprehensive index to genealogical serials. It emphasizes the importance of local genealogical societies and their newsletters.