The Judaica Archival Project was founded in 1987 (5747) by Machon Mekorot, as a non-profit preservation and access program for Sifrei Kodesh and Rabbinics. From 1988 to 1999 the Project operated a microfilm lab at JNUL the Jewish National and University Library of the Hebrew University . The Project was supported by private foundations, book lovers and from the sale of facsimile copies. Over half a million pages were filmed from thousands of rare and out-of-print Hebrew works.
From 1995 the Project pioneered the concept of a Virtual library by posting catalogs and scans of rare books on its web site. Catalogs of other facsimile and reference book publishers were added with the goal of creating a central portal for Rabbinics and Jewish Studies. Recently the web site was reorganized as the VirtualGeula portal, including some commercial Judaica sites in an effort to earn income for the project.
Over the last decade due to rapid changes in preservation technology microfilm has been replaced by digital media. The Project has adapted to these changes by changing from a static "film and save" strategy to a dynamic sharing of copies among a small group of Jewish publishers who are disseminating digital copies of our printed heritage of Sifrei Kodesh and Rabbinics.
Unfortunately our major libraries are continuing to loose a substantial portion of their base collections due to paper acidification. As for Judaica and Hebraica the percentages are even higher due to inferior paper quality, low print runs, and the willful destruction of Jewish books during the Holocaust.
The Project continues to scan, save and exchange copies of every rare Sefer that our readers order for personal study. This sharing of resources or "Gemach" approach, although more modest in scope, is more effective than large scale preservation projects, which are difficult to fund in the present economic climate.
At present the Machon has 3 ongoing programs and one project in the planning:
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VirtualGeula: A Seforim finding and procurement service assisting scholars from all over the world
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Seforim Temurat Pirsum: A service assisting scholars and authors to advertise and market their works worldwide
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Find-Scan-Copy-Send: A scanning program where researchers obtain copies for study and preserve rare Seforim for others
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The World Torani Library: A plan to build a central electronic and conventional Torani Library in Jerusalem
We therefore appeal to our members, users and visitors to help us to help Torah scholars, authors and students who benefit directly and indirectly from our programs. Please contact us at the address below for information about how you can participate in these programs.
The
Judaica Archival Project
(Machon Mekorot)
POB
45281 Jerusalem 91450, Israel
vgeula@gmail.com
Link to SSL form for credit card donations
Link to old website and microfiche catalogs
