Center for Jewish History Catalog is focus of March 26, 2023, JGSI talk by  genealogy coordinator Moriah Amit

Moriah Amit, senior reference services librarian and genealogy coordinator at the Center for Jewish History, based in New York City, will speak on “Navigating the Center for Jewish History Catalog” for the Sunday, March 26, 2023, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting. Her talk will begin at 2 p.m. CDT via Zoom and at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois.

The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:45 p.m. CDT to accommodate those who want to use or borrow genealogy library materials, get help with genealogy websites or ask genealogical questions before the main program begins at 2 p.m.

Walk-ins are welcome; however, registration is strongly encouraged. Register/RSVP for the online Zoom session by clicking the button at left.

The Center for Jewish History  in New York houses the largest archive of the modern Jewish experience outside of Israel, illuminating the history and culture of Jewish communities around the world. Among the center’s collections are many items that can provide information about your ancestors and ancestral towns, a significant portion of which can now be viewed online. However, finding items that are relevant to your family history can be tricky. 

In this session, Moriah Amit will highlight the online collections of greatest value to Jewish genealogists—including the records of New York orphanages, American soldiers in World War II, immigrant aid organizations, and German-Jewish families—and demonstrate how to access them through the center’s catalog. Additionally, Moriah will briefly explain how you can view collections that are not yet online, either in-person at the center or by digitization request.

Moriah Amit is  the senior genealogy librarian at the Center for Jewish History. For over a decade, Moriah has provided on-site and remote guidance to thousands of family history researchers of all ages, abilities, and levels of experience, Jewish and non-Jewish. She coordinates the center's “Family History Today” monthly series of genealogy public programs and is one of the co-hosts of “Genealogy Coffee Break,” the center's popular tutorial video series on Facebook and YouTube. In addition, Moriah is the creator and manager of the New York Historical Synagogues Map (synagoguemap.cjh.org), a free online tool for Jewish genealogy, which was awarded a grant from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies in 2019. She earned a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute.

JGSI hybrid event participants may register for both online and in-person events if they are undecided. In-person attendance will be limited.

Please keep in mind that JGSI will maintain certain procedures for our in-person meetings. These include:

• We request all attendees to in-person meetings be vaccinated.
• Face masks are strongly recommended.
• You will be asked to complete a Temple Beth-El waiver form upon arrival. We will retain all waiver forms on behalf of TBE.
• Water will be provided; however, no food will be allowed at this time.
• Seating will be set up to allow for social distancing.
• And MOST IMPORTANT, if you are sick or not feeling well or recently tested positive for COVID, please do not come into TBE.

The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:45 p.m. for those who want to use or borrow genealogy library materials, get help with genealogy websites or ask genealogical questions from genealogy expert volunteers before the main program begins at 2 p.m.

At each in-person JGSI monthly meeting, its “help desk” will operated from 12:45 to 1:50 p.m. Member volunteers will access online databases and answer genealogical questions one-on-one for members and visitors as time allows.

The JGSI library  has more than 800 volumes and maps of interest to Jewish family historians. Many are available for borrowing by JGSI members for a limited time. All are available for perusing from 12:45 to 1:50 p.m. at each regular monthly meeting.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping members collect, preserve, and perpetuate the records and history of their ancestors. JGSI is a resource for the worldwide Jewish community to research their Chicago-area roots. The JGSI motto is “Members Helping Members Since 1981.” The group has more than 300 members and is affiliated with the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

JGSI members have access to useful and informative online family history research resources, including a members’ forum, more than 65 video recordings of past speakers’ presentations, monthly JGSI E-News, quarterly Morasha JGSI newsletter, and much more. Members as well as non-members can look for their ancestors on the free searchable JGSI Jewish Chicago Database.