BELOW: RARE BOOKS, REPRINTED IN ISRAEL,
COME TO THE GARBER LIBRARY
Cleveland Jewish News     February 6, 1970

BELOW: GARBER LIBRARY MOVES
Cleveland Jewish News     March 6, 1976

BELOW: BOOK SALE
Cleveland Jewish News    Aug.25, 1983

BELOW:  A NEW EXPANDED GARBER LIBRARY WILL OPEN ON MARCH 22, 1989
Cleveland Jewish News     March 22, 1989

BELOW:  BRAVERMAN GALLERY IS DEDICATED ON SEPTEMBER 14, 1989
Cleveland Jewish News     October 16, 1989

BELOW:  LIBRARY RARE BOOK EXHIBIT FOR JEWISH  BOOK MONTH
 November 2010

BELOW:  SIEGAL COLLEGE, CWRU TO FORM PARTNERSHIP
Cleveland Jewish News     February 3, 2012

This front page CJN news story described how  this  partnership would enhance adult education. A careful reading of its second page reveals the planned closing of Siegal College, with its faculty, for-credit courses, BA and MA  degrees.

It also notes that the Aaron Garber Library will be under a different Federation agency - the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JECC).

As this page shows above, this change can be viewed as a child moving home. The JECC began in the 1920s as the Bureau of Jewish Education; the Aaron Garber Library began as the Bureau's library.

BELOW:  RETIREMENT OF LIBRARY DIRECTOR JEAN LETTOFSKY
July 2013

The City of Beachwood Ohio declared June 30, 2013 "Jean Loeb Lettofsky Day". She was lauded for "bringing the library into the modern era by automating the library and forging a relationship with Case Western Reserve University", "using her vast Judaic knowledge to help many scholars and community leaders find information on all aspects of Judaism and religious life", and more. To read the proclamation on the city's website, click here.

On July 22, 2013 Friends of the Aaron Garber Library celebrated her 30 years of service. The Cleveland Jewish News reported on it in their August 2 issue.

© Cleveland Jewish News

BELOW:  ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LIBRARY'S CLOSING  Cleveland Jewish News   Friday August 15, 2014

Garber Library to close after 40 years; Agnon to use space ED WITTENBERG  CJN Staff Reporter The Aaron Garber Library in Beachwood – the central library of the Greater Cleveland Jewish community for nearly 40 years at that location – will close at the end of August, the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland announced Aug. 8. The library was part of the former Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies, now known as the Siegal facility, at 26500 Shaker Blvd. It is adjacent to The Agnon School, and its closing will make way for a new library space for that Jewish community day school and its 340 students. “The Aaron Garber Library has been an important part of our community,” said Seymour Kopelowitz, executive director of the JECC. “We conducted an audit of usage by the community, and we learned that the library’s usage patterns have changed now that books are digitalized and available in online, public and synagogue libraries.” The demand for those academic books ended after Siegal College closed in 2012, Kopelowitz said. “We recognized that The Agnon School’s current library facility could be more conducive for the number of children attending the school,” he said. “We are delighted that The Agnon School will be able to use the library space to benefit a new generation of students.” Jerry Isaak-Shapiro, head of school of The Agnon School, said he’s excited about the new space for his school’s library. “For a school, a library is an essential space, not only geographically but conceptually,” he said. “A library is more than a repository of books; it’s a representation of learning. “So for us it’s a beautiful space. It really represents libraries as they used to be. The Garber Library has a very important history in the Jewish community. Our hope is we’ll both embrace that history and build a new future with our students as they begin to use the library.” Isaak-Shapiro, entering his 12th year as head of The Agnon School, said the school was “outgrowing the space” in its current library, which will be used as a classroom starting this fall. “This (new space) will gave our librarian room to expand the book collection and to conduct larger reading groups and other activities related to library science,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for us, and I certainly hope the spirit of those who built the library will still be maintained with our students.” The library first opened in the 1950s and was located at the Bureau of Jewish Education – which later became the JECC – in Cleveland. In 1976, the library moved to Shaker Boulevard in Beachwood to be part of Siegal College, then called the Cleveland College of Judaic Studies. The college was renamed the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies in 2002. Traffic at the library slowed after Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland partnered with Siegal College to create a new adult education initiative, the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at CWRU, in 2012. With the closing of Siegal College in Beachwood, the JECC, an agency of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, became responsible for the library. “The library was known for its strong collections on Israel, the Holocaust, Hebrew and the field of education,” said Jean Lettofsky, who served as its librarian from 1983 to 2013. “It grew to include well-rounded academic collections for student use as well.” The university will now acquire a section of the library’s academic collection to support the Siegal program, including its Hebrew and Jewish studies divisions. The JECC will acquire the Jewish education collection. Friends of the Garber Library will continue to host activities that support adult Jewish education in the community.  ●     © Cleveland Jewish News