Jewish heritage video collection comes to Carrier Library

Carrier Library has now become one of only three depositories in Virginia that will house the entire Jewish Heritage Video Collection.

The collection, which consists of about 200 feature and documentary films, is a project of the Jewish Media Fund. According to its official Web site, the Jewish Media Fund is a non-profit organization that has been working since 1982 in the advancement of Jewish education through film and television.

Jeff Clark, JMU's director of Media Resources and Classroom Technology, who has been pursuing this project since July, said JMU is very fortunate to have been able to take advantage of such an impressive collection. "We were lucky that there was already an organized collection in the area of Jewish studies," he said. "The Jewish Media Fund has presented a great opportunity to take advantage of a great collection."

Although Clark does not feel that entire courses will be built around these works, he said there are many different programs on campus that will be able to use this resource to their advantage.

"Having the Jewish Heritage Video Collection available at JMU offers a unique opportunity to become educated about a specific religious and cultural heritage that's not only foundational to our social life and thought, but also continues as a living part of it," he said.

Clark also added that this collection will be able to be checked out by the general public. "We want the community involved," he said. "This collection can be loaned outside, just like a public library."

Although the collection is valued at approximately $10,000, Carrier Library only had to commit $2,500 to the project, Clark said. He said the Charles H. Revson foundation matched Carrier Library's funds, and the Jewish Media Fund will provide the remaining $5,000 to bring the collection to JMU.

Senior Amanda Wattenmaker, president of Hillel, JMU's student Jewish fellowship group, said she was very excited to see that JMU would become home to such an impressive collection. "These have definitely not been widely publicized resources for students who are pursuing social science or history resources in that area," Wattenmaker said.

Wattenmaker also added that it is important to know the heritage of different people in order to gain a global perspective.

Gabby Lake, a sophomore who serves as publicity chair for Hillel said it is important to have resources like this, because it helps to promote understanding, awareness and acceptance in the community.

According to Lake, "I think it is an excellent resource to have, and it gives people at JMU and in the local community a source for answers to questions they might have about Judaism, but never asked before."

According to a press release from Media Relations, in addition to the videos in the collection, study guides on different aspects of Jewish life also will be available.

Parts of the collection already are being cataloged at Carrier Library, and the entire collection should be complete by January, according to Clark.