FAQs
Reading Room & Genealogy Institute
Mon-Thurs: 9:30am-4:30pm
Exhibit Spaces
Mon-Wed: 9:30am-4:30pm
Thurs: 9:30am-8pm
Fri: 10am-3pm
Sat: Closed
Sun: 11am-5pm
Make sure to check our holiday closures prior to visiting.
Last entry to the Center for Jewish History Exhibitions, Reading Room, and the Genealogy Institute is 30 minutes before closing. The last call to page items in the Reading Room and Genealogy Institute is 3pm.
1. What is the Center for Jewish History?
The Center is a partnership of five major institutions of Jewish scholarship, history, and art: the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
2. How do I get to the Center for Jewish History?
The Center for Jewish History is located at 15 West 16th Street, New York NY 10011, between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). More detailed directions are also available.
3. What is there to do and see at the Center for Jewish History?
At the heart of the Center for Jewish History, is the Lillian Goldman Reading Room, where visitors have access to the library and archival collections of the Center's partner organizations. Family history researchers can receive assistance at the Center Genealogy Institute. The public galleries of the Center and those of the Yeshiva University Museum have rotating exhibitions. Individual and group tours are available. Lectures, concerts, and other public programs take place at the Center frequently. There are programs for children and teenagers, mostly run under the auspices of the Yeshiva University Museum. There is a glatt kosher cafe on the premises, as well as a book and gift shop.
4. Is there an admissions fee to visit the Center?
No, there is no admissions fee to visit the Reading Room, Genealogy Institute, or the public galleries. There is a fee to view exhibitions in the galleries of the Yeshiva University Museum.Tickets are required to most public programs, such as lectures, concerts, and film screenings.
5. How do I do research at the Center for Jewish History?
The Lillian Goldman Reading Room is open to the public during its regular operating hours. It provides access to the collections of the Center's five partner organizations. Please read the Reading Room's rules and policies before your visit. If you are traveling from afar and want to be sure that specific materials will be available to you, please contact the Reading Room staff in advance. It is now possible to access catalogs to a portion of the individual partners' materials online. A joint online catalog to collections will be available by mid-2006.
6. Is the library open to the public?
Yes, the Lillian Goldman Reading Room is open to the general public during its regular operating hours. Please read the Reading Room's rules and policies for more information.
7. Can I bring my computer to the library?
Yes, laptops may be used in the Reading Room. Please refer to the Lillian Goldman Reading Room Computer Policies for more information.
8. Can I check books out of the library?
No, the Lillian Goldman Reading Room is a research library only. All materials must be consulted on the premises and no materials may be checked out.
9. Do I need to make an appointment to do research?
Appointments to consult library books and periodicals during regular hours are not usually needed. However, researchers are encouraged to reserve microfilm readers in advance. Visitors traveling from afar may want to write or call ahead to make sure that all the materials they wish to consult are available. Some archival collections require special appointments. Contact the Reading Room on +1 (917) 606-8217 for more information.
10. How can I search the research collections online?
The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five research and history organizations who have agreed to make their collections available through one Reading Room. Each partner came to the Center in 2000 with its own individual catalogs and finding aids. In 2006, many of these catalogs will become jointly searchable through the Center's web site. In the meantime, click here for access to the individual catalogs and to selected finding aids.
11. Can the Center help me find out about my family history?
Yes. The Center Genealogy Institute has been established as a resource for family history research. While the staff cannot do your family research for you, they can provide you with resources and guidance. See the Center Genealogy Department's web pages for more information.
12. Are there tours of the Center?
Yes! Learn more about Center tours.
13. Does the Center have programs for children and teenagers?
Yes. Yeshiva University Museum offers tours and programs for school children that are tailored to age and skill level and are accessible to all school audiences. The programs include interactive gallery explorations, activities with hands-on collections, and art/craft workshops. The Center also offers a summer program for high school students on family history.
14. Does the Center issue grants for research?
Yes, the Center for Jewish History and its partners offer a limited number of annual fellowships for graduate students and scholars who make use of their collections in their research.
15. How can I volunteer at the Center?
The Center needs volunteers to serve as tour guides, information docents, gallery guides, and office assistants. The Center Genealogy Institute has its own special program for volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer at the Center, please click here for more information.
16. How can I support the work of the Center?
There are membership and donation opportunities available at every level. Click here for more information about supporting the Center.
The name "YIVO" is an acronym that stands for Yidisher visnshaftlikher institut (Jewish Scientific Institute). In 1925, when YIVO Institute for Jewish Research was founded, "scientific" indicated that the institute was devoted modern approaches to scholarship and research in the social sciences and the humanities. Visit YIVO's web site to learn more.