Collections
Searching for family history?- Click here to view our genealogy page.
The Eloise and Elliot Kaplan Family Jewish History Center, located on the Barry Family Campus in Minneapolis, houses the JHSUM offices and collections of family and oral histories, photography, videos and genealogy. The archives in this location, known as the Lyle Berman Archives, include the Sharron and Oren Steinfeldt Family Photography Collection and the Ackerman Family South Dakota Collection.
The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest Archives located at the Eloise and Elliot Kaplan Family History Center are temporarily closed. Materials will not be available during that time.
We apologize for any inconvenience. We expect to reopen the Archives January 2011.
The Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, located in the Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota, contain synagogue and Jewish institutional records as well as historical materials from rural Midwest communities.
If you have any questions about our collections please use our contact form and select “Ask the Archivist.” Thank you!
Search JHSUM’s photo collection on the Minnesota Digital Library Coalition (MDLC) Minnesota Reflections database.
Click here to begin your search.
Reference Service and Collections Library
Available to members and the public by appointment.
To make an appointment, please use our contact form and select “Ask the Archivist.”
JHSUM offers the first 15 minutes of staff research free, this gives you the perfect opportunity to have some of your questions about Upper Midwest Jewish history answered.
Fees for research by JHSUM Staff
First 15 minutes- FREE
½ Hour (non-member)- $15.00
½ Hour (member)- $13.50
A minimum of ½ hour is charged after the first 15 minutes. Please indicate the maximum amount of time we should spend on your research request. By placing this order, you authorize us to increase your order total for the amount of time we spend, up to the maximum amount you authorized.
Download the JHSUM Price List for ordering and permissions information.
View the JHSUM Copyright statement.
Please note: JHSUM reference library does not circulate.
Teacher Resources
JHSUM is proud to collaborate with primary, secondary and college level educators to bring Jewish history to their classrooms.
Services for Educators
-Archives filled with authentic artifacts to enhance any history, social studies or religion presentation.
-Thousands of photographs covering 150 years of Jewish experience in the Midwest.
-Resources to help students trace family history and genealogy.
-Videos and oral histories to help history come “alive” in the classroom.
-Opportunities for special group tours of JHSUM exhibits.
-Educational forums, Jewish history programs and informative newsletters.
-An award-winning online Jewish Women’s exhibit and interactive Web features right here at www.jhsum.org.
What Is An Archive?
The term “archive” is elusive because it has a multitude of meanings.
An archive can be a physical building
Or it can be a collection of documents, large
Or small
It can also be used as a verb, as in “to archive something”, which means to place or store something deliberately in order to preserve it.
The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest incorporates all three meanings in our ongoing work. We house our materials in two archival facilities—
One at the Jewish Community Center Barry Family Campus
And another at the Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota.
We collect different types of materials—personal, family and organization papers; photos, original oral interviews and books—that preserve and illuminate the work, worship, social life and service of regional Jewish communities in the Upper Midwest over the past 160 years.
Our staff and volunteers daily engage in archiving: processing the materials that we receive from community members in order to make them available in our reading rooms and via the Web.
