United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Library

What's short, fun, and sandwiched with two field trips? My work week! (I'm here all night folks!) This week we visited two libraries, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Library and the Executive Office of the President Library in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Library.

 On Tuesday the NTL interns and two of the NTL staff hopped the metro to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Library (USHMML). There we were given a tour of the library by Vincent, a librarian who specializes in reference. The library holdings include a comprehensive collection of materials about the Holocaust, with significant holdings of works about the Third Reich, the history of antisemitism, other genocides, human rights issues, and war crimes trials. USHMML's collection includes more than 94,000 items, including books, journals, DVDs, and microfilm.

The USHMML staff shared some fascinating facts about how the unique user population and subject area the library caters to influences the resources provided and how technical services are delivered. A few highlights:

1. USHMML provides access to the complete holdings of the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive, a collection of approximately 52,000 interviews with Holocaust survivors, rescuers, and other eyewitnesses. We learned that these interviews spanning 32 languages from 56 countries conducted between 1994 and 2001 were a result of Steven Spielberg's experience creating Schindler's List. Spielberg established the foundation in 1994 to gather testimonies from other survivors and witnesses. http://dornsife.usc.edu/vhi/history.php
2. USHMML has contributed over 30 Holocaust related Subject Headings to Library of Congress. Holly, a catalog librarian that spoke with us shared how the library fought to have the subject heading "Holocaust Denial" differentiated from other materials about the Holocaust. 
3. Since the library receives materials in a host of languages, most material metadata must be transliterated from its source language to English before entry into OCLC. 
4. The  library has two separate archival repositories: Archives and Photo Archives which contain objects ranging from jockstraps to manuscripts
5. There is one archivist at USHMML whose job it is travel across Europe meeting with families to acquire their Holocaust materials. The head archivist acts as curator as well. 
6. Genealogists are not the primary patron group the library. Due to sites like ancestry.com and jewishgen.org less people are coming to the archives to find familial information. According to Vincent, when genealogists do visit USHMML they are asking more in depth questions than those required for a family tree.
7. The head archivist is a Public History Ph.D. candidate. I tried to engage her in a conversation about the age old Public History Education vs. Archival Training debate but her response was geared more towards the intern and volunteer program. I asked whether the library looked for  trained archivists/librarians or public historians to fill intern/staff positions. I could have worded the question better.
8. The library has devised a pretty neat method to remind patrons of the basic reading room rules and keep their place when using records in a Hollinger board box. (see picture below)

After our chat with the librarians we tour the museum's permanent three floor exhibit The Holocaust. The exhibition is divided into three parts: “Nazi Assault,” “Final Solution,” and “Last Chapter.” I exited the self-guided exhibit disturbed and furious with humanity. The exhibit was absolutely incredible. I was struck by the portions of the exhibit which displayed photographs from Jewish villages in which every occupant was annihilated. The placards introducing these hallways filled from floor to ceiling (on on ceilings) with pictures told of village photographers who documented community life with passion not knowing that these photos would one day be the only evidence of their existence. Archiving moments, people, stories, histories. Archivists are important, I shall never be convinced otherwise.


I am thankful for NTL's graciousness. Not many library science students get the opportunity to visit so many amazing libraries before entering the field. I would recommend the NTL internship program to other library science graduate students and a visit to the United States Holocaust Museum and Memorial to every human being. Peace. 

Handy Dandy Hollinger Box Bookmark with Rules on Back

Original Community Registers

Book and Manuscript Scanner

Building Design Evokes Gloom



Distorted View of  the Mall



The Burning of Books