Safed English Library
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| − | + | ('''Name''': Safed English Library / '''Description''': Privately-run library which offers English-speaking residents of Safed a volunteer-operated, professional library with services that most libraries never imagine.) | |
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| − | The Safed English Library is a central fixture in the Tzfat landscape for the city's growing | + | The Safed English Library is a central fixture in the Tzfat landscape for the city's growing English-speaking population. The library serves the entire population of Tzfat, providing English language reading material to native English speakers as well as to students who want to improve their English skills. |
== English Library Mission == | == English Library Mission == | ||
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=== Library Development === | === Library Development === | ||
| − | As time went on and Edyth’s collection of reading material increased, a need arose to keep track of who was borrowing books. Together with volunteers Edyth | + | As time went on and Edyth’s collection of reading material increased, a need arose to keep track of who was borrowing books. Together with volunteers Edyth card-catalogued all of her books and added more and more shelves to her tiny Safed apartment. |
=== Early Organization === | === Early Organization === | ||
| − | By the early ‘80s Edyth | + | By the early ‘80s Edyth had organized her apartment. Library Days and hours were posted for the Tzfat English-speakers -- Sundays and Friday mornings and Tuesday afternoons. Her living room shelves were three rows deep in science fiction, drama and mysteries. Romance books were on her bedroom bookshelves and the humor books were kept in boxes under her bed which she would pull out on library days. Magazines were stashed in boxes under her couches and they too would be put out when the library was open. Patrons could find Readers Digests in the bathroom and cookbooks in the kitchen. |
=== Expansion === | === Expansion === | ||
| − | By the late ‘90s Edyth | + | By the late ‘90s Edyth decided to reclaim her apartment and the library moved to a nearby apartment. The books were still three rows deep in many sections but the patrons no longer spilled Edyth’s coffee while she was having her breakfast. |
== Today’s Library == | == Today’s Library == | ||
| − | The library is located at 37 | + | The library is located at 37 Jerusalem Street, near the municipality. The days and hours remain the same as when the library was housed in Edyth’s house with an additional Monday evening option. The library’s books are all donations, sent by well-wishes from around the world. Visitors will find all the sections that patrons have in libraries anywhere in the world, including large mystery and chick-lit sections which are the most popular. The library also has a significant Jewish section and an attractive children’s area. |
=== Volunteer-Based Service === | === Volunteer-Based Service === | ||
| − | The library functions completely through donations of books and funds. | + | The library functions completely through donations of books and funds. Volunteers come three mornings every week to catalog books, cull shelves for doubles, check in returns and call delinquent borrowers. A paid staff librarian (under Edyth’s watchful eye) manages the volunteers and the work while volunteer librarians staff the library during “off” hours. |
=== Users === | === Users === | ||
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=== Edyth Geiger === | === Edyth Geiger === | ||
As of 2011 Edyth was 92 years old. She rarely comes to the library any more because of difficulty walking but from her bedroom, a few yards from the library, she continues to organize all aspects of the functioning of the library. She arranges the volunteers’ schedules and work, reviews new entries, sets policy, calls delinquents and takes care of the library fundraising. She also plans for the future as the library continues to expand and develop. | As of 2011 Edyth was 92 years old. She rarely comes to the library any more because of difficulty walking but from her bedroom, a few yards from the library, she continues to organize all aspects of the functioning of the library. She arranges the volunteers’ schedules and work, reviews new entries, sets policy, calls delinquents and takes care of the library fundraising. She also plans for the future as the library continues to expand and develop. | ||
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