Association  of  Jewish  Libraries 
of Southern  California

      The Dorothy Schroeder Memorial Fund honors 
      our teacher and mentor, Dorothy Schroeder. 
 
 
 
 

This Memorial Fund: 

•  provides AJLSC awards to those who excel or make significant contributions to Jewish libraries or Judaica librarianship. Generally, the Dorothy Schroeder Award is presented to recipient(s) every other year at our installation of officers meeting. 

•  enables AJLSC to grant financial assistance to its members. Funds are granted as interest-free loans or other assistance to members, in order to continue their library education. Also, stipends are given toward the national Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention. 

In addition, you are welcome to purchase a packet of four AJLSC Tribute Cards for an $18.00 contribution. Please send your check, payable to the Dorothy Schroeder Memorial Fund, to AJLSC Treasurer, Ronda Rose, 11257 Dona Lisa Drive, Studio City, CA 91604  - < rfrose@sbcglobal.net >. 

Recipients of the Dorothy Schroeder Award

Tributes to Dorothy Schroeder, z"l

From 1965 to 1987, Dorothy Schroeder was a founder and first president of AJLSC; she was our leader and innovator; and she was a mentor and friend to us all.  She enlisted the aid of Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin, then Dean of the College of Jewish Studies, and Sidney Greenberg, Consultant of the Los Angeles Bureau of Jewish Education, to create a course of study for Judaica librarians leading to a BJE Librarian-Teacher Certification.  She encouraged Rabbi Dr. William Cutter, then Director of the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at Hebrew Union College-JIR, to continue sponsoring these classes.  Dorothy trained Judaica librarians and helped upgrade and/or create more than 40 Judaic libraries. Her inspiration lives on. Those she mentored have mentored others, new libraries have been established, and the cycle continues to this day. These are two of the many tributes to Dorothy through the years... 

  [Note:  Dorothy Schroeder was honored by AJL and AJLSC at the national AJL Convention, Los Angeles, June 1973, with the presentation of this scroll.] 

Dorothy Schroeder - Visionary Extraordinaire

. . . Dorothy was as far removed from the stereotypical librarian image as one could be. She smiled a lot . . . she dressed beautifully . . . she was assertive in a quiet way . . . and she even encouraged people to talk out loud in her library! 

Dorothy was more than a wonderful librarian at Wilshire Boulevard Temple. She reached out into the community - and changed it so significantly that Los Angeles will be forever in her debt. She was known as the Dean of Jewish Librarians in Southern California, and we, her colleagues, are so very proud of her. 

Some of Dorothy's accomplishments include: 

•    In her early years, she established an elementary school library which became a model library for the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

•    More than 25 years ago, she organized our local professional organization, the Association of Jewish Libraries of Southern California, and served as its first president. Until two months ago, she attended meetings regularly (even while ill) and shepped nachas knowing we were the largest, the best, and the most active regional group in the country. 

•    She established a Judaica librarianship course of study, which Hebrew Union College-JIR still sponsors. This is the only long-term continuing course of study of its kind in the nation, and her students were responsible for the development of most of the synagogue libraries in this area. 

•    She made a shidduch between Hebrew Union College-JIR and the Los Angeles Bureau of Jewish Education. With a lot of nudging, professional know-how, and Association support, two things happened: The BJE began to grant certification to qualified Librarian-Teachers, and librarians joined administrators and teachers in the BJE Code of Personnel Practices. Again, this was a "first" in the United States and has become a model for other communities. 

•    She inspired us to work together and to share - on the local and national scenes. Several of us have joined Dorothy in holding Executive Board positions in the Association of Jewish Libraries and have made significant contributions to our profession on the national level. 

•    Long before computerization, Dorothy talked about central cataloging - to eliminate duplication of effort. Last year, one of her former students, originally inspired by Dorothy, set up a central cataloging pilot program, which has the potential to network with small Jewish libraries everywhere. 
 

Dorothy was a dedicated librarian with vision, and a mission. She believed that promoting the use of Jewish books was one of the highest priorities within a synagogue or school. She loved matching the right book with the right child and reaching people who did not know that they needed help. She believed in involving people wherever possible and her teaching methods included sharing and problem solving, resulting in a unique camaraderie among her students. She was a positive thinker; when we became discouraged because our synagogues would not support our library program with adequate time, money, or recognition, she kept up our spirits while helping us develop strategy. She was always available to anyone in the community at any time, as her family well knows. Dorothy carried out her mission with love, honesty, and dignity; she provided information along with inspiration; and she accepted the many accolades with modesty. She conducted her professional life in the same manner as her personal life - as a mensch. 

Dorothy has been recognized and honored often in the Jewish community for her professional accomplishments, and today, we'd like to add one more - a posthumous honor that we know would please her. I am proud to announce that the Association of Jewish Libraries of Southern California is establishing the Dorothy Schroeder Memorial Fund for the Enhancement of Judaica Librarianship. Its purpose will be to promote those ideals that exemplified Dorothy Schroeder. Among our goals will be to provide awards and incentives to those who excel or make significant contributions to our Jewish Libraries, and to make available funds for interest-free loans or for financial assistance for Judaica librarianship courses and special programs. 

In conclusion - Dorothy's memory is alive and well - and will continue to raise professional standards in our community. Her life had great meaning, as defined by Albert Einstein: 

The life of the individual has meaning only in so far as it aids in making the life of every living thing
nobler and more beautiful....*

We loved Dorothy and we will miss her -- and we will carry on.... 

Note:  This Eulogy, by Barbara Leff, was published in AJLSC's Library Light (March-April 1987, pp. 4-5), and in AJL's Judaica Librarianship (Vol. 3, No. 1-2, 1986-1987 5746-5747, p. 142).
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