The Yiddish Book Center's architecturally distinctive building in Amherst, Massachusetts, around the corner from the Eric Carle Museum, offers tours, open library-style stacks of Yiddish books, permanent exhibitions about Yiddish and Jewish culture, a Yiddish film screening room, art galleries, an English-language bookstore, and the world's only Yiddish Writers Garden. The Book Center, one of the largest Jewish cultural organizations in America has collected 1.5 million endangered Yiddish volumes, an achievement hailed as the "the greatest cultural rescue effort in Jewish history."

The Yiddish Book Center has undertaken far-reaching initiatives to "open up" the rescued books and share with the world the extraordinary treasures they contain. Response to these initiatives has been nothing short of astounding. Participants from around the world attend our annual Summer Program for Yiddish Culture. Some of the nation’s top college students participate in the annual Summer Internship Program. The 13-hour radio series, "Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond," proved one of the most popular programs in the history of National Public Radio. And פּאַקן טרעגער, Pakn Treger, the English-language magazine, was recently cited by a national newspaper columnist as "arguably the best Jewish magazine in America." The Book Center is now working in new ways to reunite עם הספֿר, Am Ha-sefer, the People of the Book, with their literary heritage. The first goal is to translate or re-issue selected titles from the best of modern Jewish literature and, using the technology of our Spielberg Digital Library, to keep these books "in print" forever. These books are all available online, so that anyone with an internet connection may now have access to Yiddish literature in its entirety.

The Book Center hosts weekly cultural events including concerts, films, and discussions. Visitors are welcome Sunday from 11:00am to 4:00pm, and Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm; admission is free. For more information contact the Center at 413-256-4900 or www.YIDDISHBOOKCENTER.org