Grant helps to add records to Indiana Jewish Historical Society Digital Collection

The Indiana Historical Society has added more than 5,000 new scans to its Indiana Jewish Historical Society digital collection.

IHS Vice President of Archives and Library Suzanne Hahn said the project was made available through a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“We were awarded $15,000 to undergo this project and we are just very excited about the results we’ve had with this funding,” Hahn said.

Hahn said the collection gives an understanding of the Jewish community, culture, and life as well as its evolution and growth through generations.

“This collection is one of the largest that we have at the Indiana Historical Society, and it also represents one of the largest groups of archival materials that document Jewish history in Indiana,” Hahn said.

Director of Collections Management Maire Gurevitz said the collection highlights the diverse Jewish communities across the state.

“Personal family photos, and albums to congregational minute books and records, photos of religious places,” Gurevitz said.

Almost every Indiana county is represented in the physical collection and more than 30 counties are represented in the digital collection. There is also extensive documentation of Jewish life in rural communities and small towns. 

Researchers can experience the geographical diversity of the collection by using the interactive map located on the digital collection’s landing page.

The digitization of the collection began last summer and wrapped up in April.

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Taylor Bennett at tbennett@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @TaylorB2213.