Hours & Access

All materials (books, periodicals, microforms, manuscripts, photographs, etc.) must be used at YIVO at the Center for Jewish History and may not be borrowed. There is no charge for consulting library and archival materials, except for fees to retrieve off-site materials. (See below.)

If you would like to consult general YIVO Archives materials in person in the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History, walk-ins are permitted, based on availability, though appointments are recommended. Please see our hours of operation.

For information about the Film Archive, please contact photofilm@yivo.org.
To inquire about and access digitized materials from the Sound Archive, please contact soundarchives@yivo.org.
To inquire about materials from the Art and Artifacts Collection, please contact reference@yivo.org. Oversize items in this collection, including posters, are closed.

For more information, contact the appropriate division:

General Archives: reference@yivo.org
Photographs & Films: photofilm@yivo.org
Sound Archives: soundarchives@yivo.org
Art & Artifacts Collection: reference@yivo.org

YIVO is now offering remote research sessions by appointment. Researchers have the opportunity to go through YIVO Archives materials of their choosing with a YIVO archivist via Zoom. Click here for more information.

YIVO Library

YIVO Library materials are available in the Lillian Goldman Reading Room. A reference collection consisting of 3,000 titles is an open-stack collection. The remaining holdings are closed-stack materials.

Lillian Goldman Reading Room

Monday through Thursday: 9:30am-4:30pm
Walk-ins are permitted, based on availability, though appointments are recommended.

Microfilm Reader/Printers

Microfilm readers are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Center for Jewish History’s Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute. During busy times, priority will be given to patrons using microfilm computers to view microfilm. Reference Services staff reserves the right to limit excessive use of microfilm computers when other users are awaiting their turn.

Off-site Materials

Off-site materials may take up to 3 weeks from time of request to availability and access may not be possible for all materials. A fee may be assessed. For access to off-site materials in archival collections, please contact reference@yivo.org. For access to off-site library materials, please contact reference@yivo.org.