Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10:00am-5:30pm; Tuesday, 10:00am-8:30pm; Sunday, 10:00am-4:30pm
Location: 1, carré Cummings Square (5151 Côte Ste-Catherine), Montréal, Quebec H3W 1M6
Contact: 514-345-2627, ext. 3015; archives@jplmontreal.org
Access: Open to the Public; Appointments are preferred; the majority of their collections are searchable on the Canadian Jewish Heritage Network database, www.cjhn.ca
Website Address: http://www.jewishpubliclibrary.org/en/archives/
The Jewish Public Library Archives is located within the Jewish Public Library of Montreal and houses the personal collections of individuals, families, institutions, associations, and schools of Montreal’s Jewish community, depicting the history and life of the community during the past 250 years. Most notable are the personal and professional records of authors and poets, artists, politicians, religious and community leaders, as well as families within the community, highlighting themes in educational history, the labour movement, women’s rights movement, Yiddish literature and poetry, Canadian art, politics, music and entertainment, religion. Their collections include more than 30,000 photographs (late 19thc.-present), 200 rare posters, textual records, artifacts, textiles and audio-visual materials.
Notable records of local organizations include the Herzl Health Centre reports (1994-2002), Jewish People’s and Peretz Schools Fonds and Mental Health records (1974-1977), the Federation CJA collections of state and group medicine (1930-), B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, Zionist Organization of Canada (1956-1964), North End Wilkomirer Hebrew Sick Benefit Association (1972-1973) and the Organization of Religious Jewry in Canada Fonds (c. 1949-). The Jewish Public Library Archives also contains oral history collections including interviews and transcriptions of local individuals and migrants such as Eiran Harris (1939- ) and Mrs. A. Hart (1973).
There are also various online virtual exhibits, including A Roomful of Dwellings: The Antiquarian Books of the Jewish Public Library, Histoires que l’on raconte – Les 100 ans de la Bibliothèque publique juive de Montréal, By Ida Seigler, Dreyfus Postcard Collection, Jewish Community of Bucharest, Rita and Joe, Roback Family Album, Sholem Krishtalka Collection and Stories Told: 100 Years of the Jewish Public Library. The Jewish Public Library Archives also launched a digital education resource entitled Jewish Montreal of Yesterday, which consists of digitized records, historic photographs, documents and graphic materials about the history of one of Montreal’s oldest cultural communities.