Photograph of original Temple Beth Sholom building, 1960s. MS-00711, Temple Beth Sholom
Cory Lampert, Head of Digital Collections, recently announced the launch of the UNLV Libraries latest digital collection: The Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project.
"This digitization project was initially funded by a $100,000 state Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant and has two goals: 1) to create a digital collection that will provide online access to historical resources about Jews in Southern Nevada and 2) to initiate a strategic collecting initiative that will ensure the preservation of and access to historical primary sources about this community.
This digital collection provides, for the first time, expanded access to unique historical collections that document this important community. In addition to the online material, the grant has supported the identification and preservation of several critically important collections. Items with the richest research value have been digitized during the first phase of the project, but this multi-year project continues to work toward building a comprehensive portal to increase access to community history materials for Southern Nevada citizens and other researchers worldwide.
Community activist Dorothy Eisenberg is recognized by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. MS-00528, Dorothy Eisenberg Papers
With nearly 1000 digital objects, over 50 new oral history interviews, dozens of new collection inventories, and over 125 biographies of people and organizations, the web portal provides easy access to a wealth of material. In addition to the search box that delivers repository results containing a variety of digitized materials, users exploring the People, Organizations, and Congregations links can browse names and then connect to archival collection guides and related digital objects. A historical timeline is also available to browse the collection visually. Oral histories, photographs, temple newsletters, scrapbooks, and the Las Vegas Israelite newspaper are all available in digitized form with full text search. This globally accessible online collection brings together these unique and important resources for the first time, with the intention of promoting a greater awareness and appreciation of the unique community history of Southern Nevada Jews and their impact on our region - and beyond."
Special thanks go out to the project team: Michelle Light, Barbara Tabach, Emily Lapworth, and Meghan Gross as well as web designer Adam Tzrcinka and the entire Web and Applications Development Services team led by Michael Yunkin.
For queries or comments about the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage digital collection, please contact Cory Lampert, Head of Digital Collections.
