National Yiddish Book Center

Founded in 1980 by Aaron Lansky, the Yiddish Book Center (originally the National Yiddish Book Center) began as a grassroots effort to rescue Yiddish books being discarded by American-born Jews unable to read the language of their immigrant parents and grandparents. Through a nationwide (and eventually worldwide) network of volunteer “zamlers,” the Center has recovered and preserved over 1.5 million Yiddish books, becoming the world’s leading resource for Yiddish literature.

Today, headquartered in a 37,000-square-foot facility on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Center has evolved from a book-rescue operation into a full cultural institution. Its mission is to recover, preserve, teach, and celebrate Yiddish literature and culture in order to advance a fuller understanding of Jewish history and identity, reaching diverse, worldwide audiences through digital initiatives, educational programs, publications, translation projects, and public programming.

The Center’s offerings include the Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library, the Wexler Oral History Project, the Frances Brandt Online Yiddish Audio Library, immersive language and culture programs, fellowships, and White Goat Press, its publishing imprint for English translations of Yiddish literature. The Center has helped establish Yiddish collections at over 600 major libraries worldwide, including Harvard, Yale, the Library of Congress, and the British Library, and its physical campus welcomes visitors for tours, exhibits, lectures, and events.