Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

In my previous post I mentioned that Reverend Ann Gray Byrd spent a wonderful evening at our shul on January 25. She shared personal stories of what it meant to grow up as an African-American in Sonoma County. She went beyond personal and did extended research on the topic, the history of the local African-American community. She collected the results of her research and compiled a book from it titled, Glimpses: Santa Rosa African Americans: Eyewitnessed, Remembered and Lived. The library has two copies of this wonderful, 100+ page large format book containing documents with commentaries. One of the copies is for borrowing and the other one is for sale, for $25. These are the last copies of the book’s second print, done in 2005. (The first print is from 2003.) This might be your last chance to own this important historic document

At the January 25 Friday night service, Reverend Ann Gray Byrd spoke about the African American experience in Santa Rosa. The apropos was that previous Monday was Martin Luther King day. The library has six items related to African-American Jewish relations. They are all ready to borrow. Let me say a few words about them:

Willis Barnstone: We Jews and Blacks: Memoir With Poems
According to his homepage Barnstone is a poet, translator, scholar, and anthologist. This, book is a series of parallel stories, following a double chronology. One hand the book is structured around human development from childhood, through adolescence, to the major events in adults’ lives. On the other hand it collects stories from different periods of history, both American and world. In the process he finds many connecting points in terms of experiences and feelings. At the same time almost every second page has a poem, which enriches the narrative and creates a more intimate feeling than a simple history book. Continue reading ‘Books on African-American Jewish relations’ »

Many Beth Ami members spent an evening with Sylvia Boorstein on January 22. Amongst them was Sue Batzdorff who bought a copy of her latest book and donated to the library. Ms. Boorstein’s ne tome bears the title: Happiness is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life. Here is what Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote about it:

This book will convince you that your own happiness really is much more available to you than you may have thought. Sylvia skillfully shares her inner life and her outer life and lovingly trains your mind and heart in the real practice of meditation, which is always about how you live your life right here and right now.

Come on in to the library and borrow this volume or any of the other ones we have from her:

• Don’t just do something, sit there
• It’s easier than you think
• That’s funny, you don’t look Buddhist

We also have audio tape versions of the last two books, two copies each. You could listen to them while driving…

The library is entering a new phase of its existence. Susanne Batzdorff created it and worked tirelessly for decades maintaining it. Now that she is ready to pass the baton, I, Gabor Por, am taking it over.

Let me quickly introduce myself. On one hand I am fresh out of a masters program, finishing up my library degree in the coming weeks. On the other hand, I have an extensive educational (3 BAs), technical (13 years in the Internet industry) and Jewish background. The latter includes being one of the founders of the first progressive Hungarian Jewish community, studying one year at a rabbinic seminary, and cataloging two Jewish libraries. I moved to the area last summer to be near my wife’s family, including her father, Rick Concoff, the Chaverim Program director.

I would like to ensure that the library will continue to serve the community’s needs and wants. In order to do so I would like to hear from every one of you who is interested in the library in one form or another. Share with me your ideas, hopes, aspirations, concerns, suggestions. You can reach me at library@bethamisr.org or at 849-7682. I will also be coming to synagogue events so I can meet with you in person. It is important to me that each member of this congregation has a sense of ownership of this library.

I would like to reinvigorate the Library Committee. If you are interested in being involved shaping in of the future of the library more directly, please do not hesitate to let me know. And/or if you would like to volunteer in helping to extend our opening hours, we are always looking for a few good men and women.

Please be assured that I will keep the library’s tradition alive and reenergize it simultaneously. Some of the upcoming changes may include longer opening hours, more frequent updates, strengthening the web presence of the library, and serving tea. This is just the beginning in the process of making it an even warmer, more welcoming place than it already is.

I would like to thank Susanne for creating the library that I now have the honor of working with. I am hoping she will stay involved with it for many years, without the pressure of being fully responsible for it.

Looking forward seeing you in the library!

From January 12 on the library has been open on Mondays and Wednesday from 3.45 to 6 PM. This is an addition of being open at the same time on Tuesdays and Thursday, and on Sundays from 9.15 till noon. To summarize the current opening hours are:
Monday-Thursday: 3.45 – 6
Sunday: 9.30 – 12

Welcome to the very first entry of the Celia Gurevitch Library’s blog. I am Gabor Por, your friendly new librarian at Congregation Beth Ami, taking over from Sue Batzdorff, who managed the library for decades.

If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, please come on in to the library and share it with me or one of the volunteers who work at the library. You can also contact me at library@bethamisr.org.

I plan to use this blog to introduce new books of the collection as we receive them. Show you around the rich, existing collection, point out books that relate to events at the synagogue, or local, national and world events. I will also share here news of any changes at the library. This may include new services and programs, changing opening hours, new features in the library itself, and introducing new staff members.

The library and I are here to serve your needs. Please let me know what kind of books, videos or CDs are you interested in us having for your borrowing pleasure.