Archives & Library Contacts

YIVO Library

For all questions pertaining to Library materials, please contact reference@yivo.org.

General Archives

The General Archives include papers of individuals, records of organizations, and subject collections.

For reference questions, to view a collection in the General Archives or to request an appointment, contact reference@yivo.org.

Appointments must be requested at least 1 week in advance. Due to a high volume of inquiries it may take up to 10 days to receive a response. Appointments are only necessary in order to view special collections – you do not need an appointment to visit the Reading Room.

Photo & Film Archives

The Photo and Film Archives hold about 150,000 to 200,000 photographs on Jewish life around the world and more than 120 films.

For reference questions, to request an appointment to use the Photo and Film Archives, or to order reproductions, contact photofilm@yivo.org.

Appointments must be requested at least 1 week in advance. Due to a high volume of inquiries it may take up to a week to receive a response.

Read more about Permissions & Reproductions.

Sound Archive

The Max and Frieda Weinstein Archive of YIVO Sound Recordings houses commercially produced 78rpm discs (around 6,500 titles), LPs (over 2,500 albums), cassettes and compact discs, as well as non-commercial, one-of-a-kind field and private recordings of Yiddish folk, theater and art songs, cantorial music, klezmer, comedy, radio and spoken word.

For reference questions, to make an appointment, donate sound documents, or order sound reproductions, call (212) 294-6169 or write to soundarchives@yivo.org.

Due to a high volume of inquiries it may take up to a week to receive a response.

Music Archives

(Sheet Music & Manuscripts)
The YIVO Music Archives hold liturgical music, popular songs, art music, theater music, folk music, and other genres.

For reference questions about the Music Archives, please contact reference@yivo.org.

Art and Artifacts Collection

The Art and Artifacts Collection includes paintings, drawings, rare prints, set designs, costumes, artifacts and traditional and ceremonial art. There are about 3,000 original art objects.

To inquire about the Art and Artifact Collections or to request an appointment, contact reference@yivo.org.

Appointments must be requested at least 1 week in advance. Due to a high volume of inquiries it may take up to a week to receive a response.

Donations of Archival Materials & Books

If you wish to donate documents, photographs, films, artworks, manuscripts, or sound recordings to the YIVO Archives, please contact:

Leo Greenbaum
Accessions Archivist / Bund Archivist
(212) 294-6145

If you would like to donate books to the YIVO Library, please contact reference@yivo.org.