Klau Library - Hebrew Union College

The Klau Library, Cincinnati, in quantity and quality of holdings, stands at or near the top of all American collections of Hebraica and among the strongest in the world.

The collection includes: 530,000 printed books, 1,200 current periodical subscriptions, 2,500 manuscript codices and many thousands of manuscript pages, 19,000 microfiche & 19,000 reels of microfilm, 100,000 digital images from manuscripts and early printed books, 3,300 sound recordings, 14,000 books in the Rare Book Room, and numerous non-book collections: Maps, Slides, Filmstrips, Bookplates, Stamps, Computer Programs, Games, and Kits.

Particular strengths of the collection include Ancient Near East Studies, Archives (non-American), Bible, Cabala, Calendars, Early Christianity, History, Jewish Americana, Maimonides, Philosophy, Rabbinics, Responsa, Spinozana, Wit and Humor, and Yiddish.

The Library is available to any resident of the Greater Cincinnati area, and also lends thousands of items yearly via interlibrary loan. Hundreds of reference questions are answered by the Library staff each year. Rare and important manuscripts, books, and special collections are lent by the Library to other institutions around the world in support of their exhibits and scholarly research. Treasures from the Rare Book Collection, as well as topical exhibits, are displayed in the Rabbi David Ellenson Rare Book Room and in the first floor exhibit case.