YIVO Encyclopedia Receives Awards

(NEW YORK, March 2009) – The Association of Jewish Libraries has named The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe best reference work of 2008 in the Judaica Reference and Bibliography awards bestowed by its Research Libraries, Archives, and Special Collections Division. In addition, the encyclopedia has received Honorable Mention recognition in two other recent awards ceremonies. The first, the American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Book and Media Awards, was in the competition for the prestigious Dartmouth Medal, which is given in recognition of the most outstanding and significant reference work of the year. The announcement noted that the encyclopedia "epitomizes the best qualities of traditional reference. Based on exhaustive multi-lingual research, including work in recently opened archives, it definitively documents a rich cultural heritage."

The second honorable mention was in the category for Multivolume Reference Works in the Humanities and Social Sciences of the PROSE Awards, which are the Association of American Publishers' Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence.

These latter two awards, representing the entire spectrum of American librarians and publishers, are the most significant prizes for professional and scholarly reference books of the year. “In winning what is in effect the Silver Medal in both competitions along with the recognition from the AJL,” observed YIVO Executive Director Carl J. Rheins, “YIVO's successful creation of this monumental work has been formally acknowledged as the scholarly achievement it truly is.”