The Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica is situated within the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections, a department dedicated to building collections that reflect the richness of human experience and support the University of Florida’s educational mission. We prioritize access, ensuring our collections are discoverable and actively used by faculty, students, researchers, and the broader community. Through responsible stewardship and ongoing evaluation, we aim to align acquisitions with the evolving needs of academic and public audiences, fostering excellence in scholarship, teaching, and lifelong learning.
Support for Jewish Studies and Related Programs
The need for a research-level collection encompassing both Judaica and Hebraica was first recognized in 1973 with the establishment of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Florida. Today, the Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies offers a major and minor in Jewish Studies and Hebrew, along with certificate programs, as part of a vibrant, multidisciplinary curriculum. Courses are taught by faculty from a variety of academic departments, including History, Religion, European Studies, and Political Science. The library also supports other units on campus that teach courses or classes within Jewish studies or on related subjects.
History of the Collection
The University of Florida’s Judaica library was named in recognition of an endowment established in 1977 by Sam and Jack Price—both UF alumni—in honor of their parents, Isser and Rae. Between 1977 and 1979, the library acquired three foundational collections, often referred to as the “3M” collections: a private Judaica collection purchased from Rabbi Leonard Mishkin of Chicago; a scholarly collection donated by Dr. Shlomo Marenof of Brandeis University; and the inventory of the Bernard Morgenstern bookstore, formerly located on New York’s Lower East Side. Since then, tens of thousands of new and retrospective titles have been added, bringing the collection to over 140,000 volumes. Today, the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica is the largest collection of Judaica and Hebraica in the southeastern United States. Primarily composed of fully cataloged 20th-21st century monographs—both print and electronic—the collection is further enriched by thousands of periodicals and serials, including many rare, non-current titles, in physical, digital, and microfilm formats. While the majority of materials are in English, Hebrew and Yiddish, the library’s holdings span 52 countries and 40 languages. The Price Library’s special collection of rare and scarce books and artefacts from the 16th to the 20th century is housed in the Judaica Suite in Smathers Library. Its 54 archival and manuscript collections are stored in Smathers Library’s closed stacks and can be discovered through the Libraries’ finding aids and requested for consultation in the Grand Reading Room.
Other Local Library Resources for Jewish Studies
Some materials related to Jewish studies in Western languages remain in the Libraries’ Humanities and Social Sciences (“General”) collection in Library West and have not been transferred to the Price Library. Additional resources—such as materials on Jewish art and architecture and on Israeli law—are located in the Architecture and Fine Arts (AFA) Library and the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center, respectively. Maps of Israel, including a notable collection of antiquarian Holy Land maps, are housed in the Map and Imagery Library.