Jewish Resource Centre Collection

This material is held atUniversity of Roehampton Foyle Special Collections and Archives

  • Reference
    • GB 3325 JRC
  • Dates of Creation
    • 17th Century-21st Century
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
    • The majority of the collection is in English
  • Physical Description
    • c46 linear metres, plus artefacts

Scope and Content

This is a reference collection that has been collected together by the Jewish Resource Centre to further its purpose of promoting the teaching and study of Judaism. The collection includes published books, journals and some artefacts.

The published works in the collection cover the following subjects:

  • Religious texts including books about the Torah and Jewish festivals
  • Judaism – study and teaching, practice and lifestyle
  • Jewish personalities including philosophers, politicians and other historical figures
  • Jewish literature, philosophy, art, music
  • Jewish history
  • Anti-Semitism and Holocaust – biographies, critical works and fiction
  • Israel – history, conflicts, travel

Administrative / Biographical History

The Jewish Resource Centre was founded in 1996 as a joint project between the School of Education at Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, London, (the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education is now the University of Roehampton) and the local Jewish Community. Being a joint project with the School of Education allowed the Jewish Resource Centre to help with the training of teachers in religious education.

The purpose of the Jewish Resource Centre is to provide an academic base for teaching and learning about Judaism for Jewish and for non-Jewish people. It's aims are to provide a bridge between the University of Roehampton and the local community; to support the teaching of Judaism in schools; and to promote dialogue within and between religions.

The Jewish Resource Centre offers the following services:

  • Judaism Sessions as part of the Relgious Education syllabus for trainee teachers
  • 2,000 books for reference and research
  • Bibliographies and resource lists
  • Lectures, classes and workshops
  • Film screenings with discussion
  • Consultancy related to Jewish culture
  • Holocaust education and training
  • Support for teachers
  • Outreach work with local communities
  • Interfaith events
  • Festival celebrations

Access Information

This collection is open to the public by appointment.

Appointments can be made by contacting the archivist by email: archives@roehampton.ac.uk

Alternatively, you may use one of the methods below:

Telephone: 020 8392 3323

Postal address: University of Roehampton, Library, Foyle Special Collections and Archives, Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 5SZ.

The Foyle Special Collections and Archives are located on the second floor of the University Library.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Jewish Resource Centre's office in 2008.

Other Finding Aids

The books, journals and publications in the collection can be searched using the Library Catalogue https://library.roehampton.ac.uk/home (choose “Special Collections” from the menu).

A full catalogue of the archival material in the collection can be searched using Archive Catalogue https://calmview.roehampton.ac.uk/

Further information can be found here: https://library.roehampton.ac.uk/archives

Archivist's Note

Description created in June 2015.

Custodial History

The Jewish Resouce Centre Collection has been collected and added to through money raised by the Jewish Resource Centre and through donations.

The collection was originally stored in the Jewish Resource Centre's office. It was transferred to Archives and Special Collections within the library at Roehampton University (later known as the University of Roehampton) in 2008.

Related Material

Further collections relating to religion that are held by Foyle Special Collections and Archives at University of Roehampton include:

  • Records of the Living and Sharing Our Faith Project (part of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales). This late-20th Century and early-21st Century project aimed to study the issues of national religious education and Roman Catholic education. See reference code: BC
  • Records of the Authority and Governance in the Roman Catholic Church Project (carried out by by the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham). This late-20th Century and early-21st Century project aimed to research into authority and governance within the Roman Catholic Church. See reference code: QF

Geographical Names