Special Collections

The YIVO Library, built through the acquisition of several private and institutional libraries over the last century, holds more than 385,000 printed books in a dozen languages, along with pamphlets, periodicals, letterheads, and more. Listed below are featured special collections.

YIVO is also home to the largest collection of remnants of the famed Strashun Library Private Collection, rescued from the ashes of the Holocaust.

Yiddish Collections

There is no single Yiddish collection in the YIVO Library. But the 40,000 Yiddish-language titles comprise the largest collection of Yiddish books in the world.

Vilna Collection

The Vilna Collection is the core collection of the YIVO Library. It is the surviving remnant of YIVO's prewar library in Vilna and also contains many books from the world-famous Strashun Library.

Private Libraries

The YIVO Library holds the private library of Yiddish writer Chaim Grade, as well as the libraries of other writers and scholars.

Holocaust Collections

The YIVO Library is especially strong in resources for studying the Holocaust.

Yizkor Books

Memorial books from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe in the YIVO Library.

Yiddish Dictionaries

There are over 100 Yiddish dictionaries in the YIVO Library.

William Milwitzky Ladino Collection

The YIVO Library has an important collection of books in Ladino, the language of Sephardic Jews.