The Beth Israel Adult Library houses over 2700 volumes in areas such as Jewish culture, theology, religious practice, cookbooks, arts, music, crafts, fiction of Jewish interest, newspapers and magazines, and Jewish and Israeli history and biography. Our mission as a library is to enrich the religious and cultural Jewish life and identity of the members of the congregation. The BIC Library supplements the synagogue's adult education program by providing materials in support of the program's curriculum and special events, and providing a reliable set of reference materials to support the memberships general inquiries into Jewish subjects.

Library Catalog

We are currently in the process of automating our library, partly in thanks to a generous donation by the Women.s League. When finished, this project will allow all our members to search the library catalog from their computers at home. Our estimated date of completion is Fall 2011. Stay tuned throughout the coming months for updates.

Book Donations

The BIC Library is full of wonderful titles, but a little short on space. If you would like to donate books to the library, please contact us first, and we will check our catalog to see if we already have the titles. If we are unable to accept donations, we can suggest other organizations that accept used books.

Programming: Books and Bagels

The Beth Israel Library Book Group meets about once a month, generally on Sunday mornings to discuss books of Jewish interest. Contact Nika if you are interested in joining.

How you can support the BIC Library

The Library's operating budget is based solely on contributions from our members. If you use our library and enjoy reading our materials, then you may want to consider making a donation. Help at any level is appreciated!

We also need volunteers from time to time to help with updating the catalog, library tracking, and other important tasks, esp. on Monday afternoons. If you are interested, please contact Nika. No experience necessary, just a willingness to help.

Contact Information:

BIC Adult Library: Nika Bareket, Librarian
Library Hours: Monday-Thursday 9-5, Fridays 9-3
The librarian is in: Wednesdays and Sunday mornings
To speak with the librarian, please call the main BI office.
E-mail: adult-library@bethisrael-aa.org

Please send comments or suggestions to The Beth Israel Webmaster.