Congregational Library

The Temple Beth Shalom Library was originally started by Helen Carlin and Adel & Paul Nagelberg and Family with monetary donations that they gave to form the Lois W. Carlin Memorial Book Fund. The Lois W. Carlin Memorial Book Fund honors the memory of the late Lois Carlin who was a member of Temple Beth Shalom for many years. Lois gave tirelessly of herself in many endeavors for Temple Beth Shalom. She was an inspiration to many people who knew her. The Lois W. Carlin Memorial Book Fund is used to purchase books for the Temple Beth Shalom Library. In addition to the Lois W. Carlin Memorial Book Fund, books may also be donated to the Temple Beth Shalom Library. The Temple Beth Shalom Library is located in the Temple Office on the book shelves. Books may be checked out for 1 week, with renewal allowed. There is no fee charged to check out books, however a 10¢ per day (overdue) fee, which is payable to the Religious School Fund, is charged when books are returned after the due date.

Temple Beth Shalom Library has a variety of books to read for adults and for children. Four of the books that are available for check out include the following.

Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts by Philip Birnbaum
This is an easy to use and helpful resource about basic Jewish concepts. The major categories of concepts included are: Basic Concepts, Bible, Torah, Temple/Synagogue Worship, Prayer/Liturgy, Calendar, Sabbath, Feasts/Festivals, Fasts, Selected Observances, Life Cycle, Death/Mourning, Beliefs/Heresies, Ethics, Law, History, Education, Talmud, Kabbalah/Mysticism, and Hebrew Language.
Testament: At the Creation Of The State Of Israel by Aaron Levin
This is an account of the founding of the State of Israel as told by various people (well known and not so well known) on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. A photo of each person and each person’s short (one page) account makes this moment of Jewish history very personal (and humanistic).
Ten Traditional Jewish Children's Stories Retold by Gloria Goldreich
These are stories that many Jews in Eastern Europe told during the 19th and 20th century. Each story is short (two pages) and fun to read to children (ages 6 years and up). Children can hear the story that is read to them (older children can read the stories themselves) and then think about the deeper meanings of the story by answering the questions that are included at the end of each story.
The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill
This is the history of the Jewish people that is told through modern explanations and accounts of the Torah stories. While not an academic historical account of Judaism, the history of Jewish culture and humanity is described in an interesting and thought provoking manner.

If you would like to check out (borrow) these or any other books from the Temple Beth Shalom Library, please see Suzanne or Steve Boetger.

Happy Reading!