Join us for our 2019-2020 Temple Book Club when we discuss a title and have a "Live Chat" with the author through our video-conference system. Our theme this year is music. Plan to join us on these Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in the Madge Rothschild Resource Center:

• September 24 - The Garden of Letters by Alyson Richman - At one time a selection of the Jewish Book Council’s Book Club, this novel follows the story of Elodie, a Jewish cellist arriving in Italy in 1943. 

• January 14 - Windy City Blues by Renee Rosen. Set in the 1950s and 60s, the novel showcases the relationship between Jewish record company owners and African American blues artists. Leeba Groski, an Orthodox Jewish songwriter, is a woman caught in the middle of these two communities.

• March 3 - Tasa’s Song: A Novel by Linda Kass. Inspired by true events, the novel follows Tasa, a young Polish violinist, caught in World War II between the Nazis and the Soviet Union. From Publishers Weekly, it is “a memorable tale of unflinching courage in the face of war―and the power of love and beauty to flourish amid its horrors.”

The Rabbi Richard B. Safran Library has almost 700 titles in its collection related to the Holocaust. Many of these books and movies have received awards, and we’ve compiled a brochure featuring Holocaust-related titles. Learn about the Violins of Hope coming to Fort Wayne in November 2019.

For younger readers, we have a number of beautiful picture books that gently introduce the topic, and for teens, we have some exceptional collections of diaries and first-hand accounts. We have significant collections of both fiction and non-fiction, and our video collection includes a more than thirty documentaries and feature films.

Our full Holocaust collection can be accessed through our catalog. If you’re browsing the collection in person, Holocaust material can be located easily by looking for the star on the spine.

It’s easy!  Just grab a Bingo card and start reading!  Download a complete set for all ages here.

For each book you read or activity you do on the sheet, you can cross off a square.  Do this by telling the librarian – either by e-mail at library@templecav.org or in person - which book you read or which activity you did.

The honor system will be used when filling in the squares, but if you are found to have cheated, you will be disqualified from the program.  For each square you cross off, you’ll get a piece of candy.  Once you cross off an entire row in any direction, you can add your name to the raffle jar for the gift card drawing.   If you complete the entire card, you get an extra entry in the raffle jar!  Altogether, there will be a maximum of six raffle entries for each Bingo card – five rows plus one completion bonus.  There is no limit on the number of Bingo cards completed per person. 

Books read do not need to be the property of the Richard B. Safran Library, but they do need to be of Jewish content.  If the book you read is not in our collection and you think it should be, please let us know!

Our drawing will be held on the last day of Religious School on Sunday, May 19. Prizes will be as follows:

Barnes & Noble Gift Card - $30, Amazon Gift Card - $20, I-Tunes Gift Card - $10.  Remember, complete 1 Bingo line for 1 Raffle ticket, and get an extra ticket if you complete the entire card!

The more members we can involve with the library, the more services we will be able to provide!  We are particularly looking for people comfortable with computers to help staff the library desk during Resource Center events.  In addition, we could use drivers willing to deliver materials to those not able to make it to the campus, readers to review books in our collection, and creative folks to help with library displays.  If you are interested in volunteering in our library, please contact Betsy Gephart at library@templecav.org.  

Members of Congregation Achduth Vesholom, the Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne, and Congregation B’nai Jacob may all borrow materials from our collection.  Others may obtain borrowing privileges for a small fee.  An account number is required to borrow and hold materials online.  Contact librarian, Betsy Gephart, at library@templecav.org for this information.  Find more information about our lending policy. 

From your home computer, smart phone or other device, you can access our full collection through the library catalog. 

Once you have an account number, click on the small “person” icon in the upper right hand corner of our catalog to log into your account.  From there, you can renew materials and access your account information.  While searching the catalog, you can place a hold on something if you’d like to pick it up the next time you’re in the building.  You will receive an e-mail when it’s ready for you in the Temple office.