About our Library

Our library, named in memory of Temple member Dr. Arnold L. Segel, has over 16,000 books, audio- and visual-recordings, books on CD, journals, and newspapers on Jewish subjects ranging from Bible to Zohar (mystical text). Temple Israel members, students, staff, and residents of the Greater Boston community may borrow materials from the library. Our librarian, who has over 30 years of experience, and her staff are available to help with individual research projects and can help you find resources on any topic from just about any location, physical or virtual.

The Library is open when Temple Israel is open. Come on by for a book and a cup of tea!

"We all love the Temple Israel library. Thank you for making it such a warm and welcoming place."

Nicole,

FJECC and Religious School parent

"Best place ever!"

Nicole,

FJECC parent and library "regular"

"I feel like I'm in this friendly universe..."

Judy,

A TILLI Leader

"I sing the praises of the library and its wide range of books. Ann Abrams graciously helps us find the references we are seeking and runs a wonderful book group, filling us in on the authors' backgrounds, and when available shows us slides relating to the subject and to the author. Her questions are well thought out."

Book Group Participant,

2015

Book Shuk

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Last Tuesday Book Group

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On Display

A letter from Dr. Arnold L. Segel

We are very fortunate to have on display inside the library, a letter from Dr. Arnold L. Segel, z”l, in whose memory our library is named. Dr. Segel sent this letter to his parents when he was the commanding officer liberating the Ebensee Concentration Camp in 1945. We thank the Segel family for this very moving and educational gift.

Read the Letter

"The tea (there is a self-service tea cafe in the library) is life altering because it brings people together."

Emily Carroll and Nicole Monahan,

Temple Israel Member

"Coming here on Sundays is the most peaceful part of my week!"

David,

Religious School parent and library "regular"

"This is the coolest library ever!"

Kelly,

FJECC Parent

"The library is my happy, quiet place!"

Liz Stillman,

Temple Israel member

"I love being in the library and getting my work done!"

Jeanie,

Religious School Parent

"When I come to pick up my child, I love coming early so I can work on the puzzle in the library. It's such a quiet and meditative space!"

Randi,

FJECC Preschool Parent

"I look forward to doing the jigsaw puzzle every week - it's my therapy!"

Barbara Forster,

Temple Israel Member

"The library is my favorite place to be in Temple Israel."

Rebecca White,

Temple Israel Member

"Being here in the TI library is so conducive to getting a lot accomplished in a peaceful, inspiring environment. The librarian, Ann, is a tremendous resource and created this environment. The tea corner is very attractive, too!"

Fern Remedi-Brown,

Temple Israel Member

Online Resources

Online resources for Jewish and general research, and for finding that next great book, film, or song…

Curated by librarians, educations, and others motivated by the desire to provide the best information and resources, period.

Jewish books and more:

Jewish Book Council. The mission of the Jewish Book Council is:

To promote the reading, writing, publishing and distribution of quality Jewish content books in English.
To serve as the national resource center for information about the American Jewish literary scene.
To serve as the coordinating body of Jewish literary activity in North America in both general and Jewish venues.
To serve as the North American representative of Jewish literature on the international scene.

Tablet. Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life

The Scroll, News & Politics, Life & Religion, Arts & Culture, Longform, Holidays, Podcasts

Research on Jewish Topics:

General Jewish Research:

The Jewish Encyclopedia. Published in the early 1900’s, and is completely online. For historical, not time-sensitive information about Judaism, this is terrific.
Jewish Virtual Library. Information from difference sources on politics, history, Jewish people, and Israel.
My Jewish Learning. A great resource about anything to do with Judaism, past and present.
Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) is the website for the Reform Movement. Includes a Torah commentary section, and info about life cycle rituals, and holidays.

Genealogy:

Jewish Women:

Jewish Women’s Archive. Your best information destination about Jewish women, past and present.

Subscription Resource:

Feinberg E-Collection. Through our membership with the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, we have access to several wonderful Judaic databases, including Encyclopedia Judaica. See the full list here. Please contact Ann Abrams for log in info.

General Research:

Digital Commonwealth of America. An online library of photographs, manuscripts, audio recordings, and other materials of historical interest from libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies from across Massachusetts.
Digital Public Library of America. The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
Internet Archive. Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, and more.
JSTOR, a full-text academic journal index. Through cooperation with the Boston Public Library (BPL), Temple Israel members may access JSTOR. Please contact the librarian for access instructions.
Worldcat is a global catalog of library collections. You can search for books, music, video, articles and much more at a library near you.

Did you know…

Our library is a member of the Massachusetts Library System’s Inter-Library Loan program. Please contact the librarian if you need help finding an article or book on any topic.

Our partner in obtaining curated information: our public libraries. Check out the website of your public library, where your library card will provide you with free access to online journals, databases, and more.