Great Reads for Jewish American Heritage Month

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Jewish American Heritage Month Banner

# May is Jewish American Heritage Month

We've put together a list of books by and about Jewish Americans. These books are available in multiple formats and cover a wide range of topics, from history and biography to fiction and poetry. 

Jacksonville Public Library has an AMAZING collection of books featuring stories and information written by and about people from varied backgrounds, races, ethnicities, life experiences, and viewpoints. Throughout the month, the Library will highlight books in our collection by and about Jewish American heritage including here on our blog, through book displays in your local library, and via reading challenges for all ages on Beanstack. Happy Reading!

History Chat - Jews of Florida: Centuries of Stories

History Chat: Jews of Florida: Centuries of Stories

Learn about the history of the Jewish community in Florida on Monday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mandarin Branch Library. Presenter Marcia Jo Zerivitz,​​ Founding Executive Director of the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU in South Beach, will discuss the history of Jews of Florida from colonial times to the present and how the Jewish community contributed to Florida’s growth from their involvement in agriculture, education, the arts, and more!

 

# Book Recommendations


We love to share selections that demonstrate the range of our collection all year, and we encourage you to explore these books with us this month!

 

Adults

 

 

Teens

 

 

Children

 

Attention River City Readers:

Are you participating in Mayor Deegan's River City Readers challenge? Through the Beanstack app, children and their caregivers will be able to log their reading minutes with an individual goal of reading at least 20 minutes per day, and a citywide goal of reading a million minutes in 2024. At the end of the year, the city’s top young readers will be given prizes!

Join the Challenge

  1. Go to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Download and open the Beanstack Tracker app.
  2. You can also register and log your reading minutes on the Beanstack website at https://jaxpl.beanstack.com.
  3. Using the Find a Site search bar, type Jax Library or River City Readers

For Researchers

The Main Library is home to the Holocaust Collection, a selection of resources documenting one of the most horrific events in human history. In addition to books, recordings, films and other materials cataloging the history, events and aftermath of the Holocaust, the collection includes eyewitness accounts from 16 local Holocaust survivors (available on DVD). Located in Special Collections (on the fourth floor), the Holocaust Collection is made possible in partnership with Remembering for the Future Community Holocaust Initiative.