The National Sephardic Library is made up of the collection of books and archives the American Sephardi Federation, the only library exclusively devoted to Sephardi/Mizrahi topics and authors in the United States. We strive to collect, preserve and provide access to resources for the study of Jews tracing their ancestry back to the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and the Orient. The National Sephardic Library is the only Sephardic Library and Archives in the Western Hemisphere open to the public.

The National Sephardic Library is housed at the Center for Jewish History (CJH) in New York City, where the American Sephardi Federation is one of the partner organizations. In addition to the American Sephardi Federation, the partners of the CJH also include the American Jewish Historical Society; Leo Baeck Institute; Yeshiva University Museum and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Originating from a small collection of books, the National Sephardic Library has, in a matter of a few years, grown to a respectable assemblage of over 10,000 cataloged items and more than 300 linear feet of archival documents. Because of threats of loss of important records due to disintegration, the Library is striving to identify and acquire as many materials with Sephardic content as possible.

If you have family papers, books or other memorabilia from the countries of origin of you or your families, or documents related to the history of your family's life here in the United States, we invite you to contribute them to the National Sephardic Library where they will be preserved in state-of-the-art conservation rooms, at our disposal, and stored in a climate controlled archival environment. It is hoped that organizations and individuals alike will partner with us in the preservation of Sephardic heritage and culture.

To access books held in the National Sephardic Library, you can search the online catalogue via the Internet and visit the Lillian Goldman Reading Room where the collection will be made available to you. The Reading Room's open-stack collection has basic texts and general information, as well as major publications. In addition, the Reading Room has developed and maintains an electronic resource library that is available through the public computer terminals.

Randall C. Belinfante our full-time librarian and archivist is available Monday through Friday to assist you with your requests. Should you have specific inquiries, please submit them to RBelinfante@ASF.CJH.org. or call (212) 294-8350 ext. 3.

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