John Shaw Billings's letter to Jacob H. Schiff

John Shaw Billings 

Letter to Jacob Henry Schiff (1847–1920)

November 10, 1910

John Shaw Billings (1838–1913), the Library’s first director, maintained a cordial correspondence with German-born financier and businessman Jacob Henry Schiff (1847–1920) throughout the years. They frequently exchanged letters concerning expenditures for books and funds needed for further nurturing the Library’s new “Hebrew Department.” These letters often included important data on the number of volumes in the collection, their cataloging status, and statistics on readers. In this letter, Billings informs Schiff that the department contains 17,000 books, has a catalog of 9,000 cards, and receives approximately 40 visitors daily. Billings indicates that “the selections for purchase have been carefully made and it is believed that the collection is very complete in works expressing Jewish thought and devoted to the interests of Jews and of Judaism in all languages.” 

This letter also contains the earliest known mention of plans to open a dedicated reading room for the Jewish collection in the Library’s new edifice. In Billings’s words: "Early next May we expect to move into the new Library building on Fifth Avenue, and in this building a large room on the second floor has been set aside for this Collection and for the accommodation of readers who wish to use it.” Schiff frequently sought updates to ensure that his support of the collections remained uninterrupted; he would send a new check immediately when funds were nearing depletion. 

Between 1910 and 1919, the Jewish Department received nearly 11,000 visitors every year.