The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research has officially opened the launch of the YIVO Learning and Media Center (YLMC).
The YLMC was designed to use YIVO’s unparalleled archival and library holdings to create inspiring educational experiences that demystify archives, illuminate Jewish history and bring Jewish culture to life.
“By connecting students to primary source materials, the YLMC offers a visceral and personal connection to history—something that traditional books or online resources simply cannot provide,” said Jonathan Brent, CEO and executive director of YIVO.
Since its pilot phase began in May 2023, the YLMC has welcomed more than 1,000 visitors through 39 different events, including workshops and presentations. Students from institutions such as The Frisch School, Stuyvesant High School, Riverdale Country School, The Dalton School, Columbia University and New York University, among others, have explored Jewish history firsthand.
“Within the classroom, I can teach them what an archive is, but I can only attempt to describe the exhilarating, sometimes frustrating, yet ultimately deeply rewarding process of uncovering Jewish history directly from the artifacts our ancestors created and preserved with their own hands. … Now, a whole new world has been opened up for them,” said Yaelle Frohlich, a teacher at The Frisch School.
Abbe Karmen, a Riverdale Country teacher, said that “students engaged with primary sources in ways that brought to life the daily particulars as well as the broad political, economic, and sociocultural experiences of people who lived almost a century ago … our students learned how archivists collect and catalog a vast array of historical material, including grade school paperwork from the 1930s, the melodies of early 20th-century nigunim and a collection of Yiddish typewriters.”
The lessons developed during the pilot phase drew on treasures from YIVO’s archive, including interwar youth autobiographies, Yiddish theater posters and artifacts rescued from the Vilna Ghetto. Importantly, feedback from educators and students has shaped the center’s design.
The YLMC offers a dynamic range of features, including:
• A striking welcome vestibule highlighting photographs and objects from YIVO’s storied history.
• Artifact displays from YIVO’s Archives and Library.
• Interactive activities like a poster-making station and a touch-screen map featuring hundreds of photos of Old-World Jewish shtetls.
• An intimate open-stacks library with Yiddish and English books.
• Multimedia stations for listening to sound recordings and watching videos from YIVO’s collections.
• A classroom for lessons that utilize rare archival materials.
The creation of the YLMC was made possible by a generous grant from the Seedlings Foundation in 2022. Seedlings support initiatives that nourish the physical and mental health of children and families and foster an educated and engaged citizenship.
Find out more about the YIVO Learning and Media Center at: yivo.org/YLMC. For the most update information on YIVO’s Centennial activities, visit: yivo.org/Centennial.
