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The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life was established in 2010 at The Bancroft Library after the transfer of the collections of the Judah L. Magnes Museum to the University of California, Berkeley. The Collection includes art, objects, texts, music and archival materials about the cultures of the Jews in the Global Diaspora and the American West.
As one of the most respected Jewish collections in the world, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life enhances the research collections and Jewish Studies scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley.
With its new facility in downtown Berkeley (completed in Fall 2011), The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life provides unprecedented access for scholars and the general public to special collections, exhibitions and public programs.
 Go to the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life website
Access to Collection News
PLEASE NOTE - The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life is split into two separate repositories:
- The museum and artifact collections reside in a new facility at 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley.
- The rare books and the Western Jewish Americana archives are integrated into The Bancroft Library.
Museum and artifact collections
Access to muesum collections is currently closed to the public. Research hours will be opened in Fall 2012.
Rare books and the Western Jewish Americana archives
Not all collections are available at this time. Available collections can be accessed in The Bancroft Library Reading Room. Be aware that many items are stored off-site and must be requested a few days ahead of your visit to the Bancroft Library. Please check UC Berkeley's Library Catalog, OskiCat, for locations and details on access. The location for off-site material will be designated as Bancroft (NRLF). You can request information about these materials by submitting an online research request form.
All loans, rights and reproduction services, and in-depth research in the collections will be unavailable until Spring 2012.
Collections
Scholars and students, institutions, local historians, genealogy experts and family historians have visited the Judah L. Magnes Museum on a daily basis to gain access to its collection for decades. The move of the collection to the University of California, Berkeley and the creation of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at The Bancroft Library is geared towards improving accessibility to all holdings.
Once the transition to UC Berkeley is completed, the archives and library holdings will be made available to the public at the Bancroft Library, while the museum holdings will constitute the visible storage in the new facility located at 2121 Allston Way, in downtown Berkeley, near the UC Berkeley Campus and public transportation.
During the transition, researchers are encouraged to make full use of the website of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, as well as of a variety of online tools:
For detailed information and updates about collection access, patrons are welcome to visit the Research Information page on the Magnes website.
Exhibitions and Public Programs
The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life has a fifty-year history of presenting exhibitions and public programs that break new ground in Judaica connoisseurship, explore new paths in scholarship, introduce under-recognized Jewish artists of the 20th century, and take risks with experimental projects by contemporary artists. Many exhibitions have drawn on selections from its collection, or on commissioned works that use the collection as inspiration.
Visitors can check the calendar for upcoming exhibitions and programs co-presented by The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life and other organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area starting in September 2010.
Connect with the Magnes online
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