Tartak Learning Center Resource Page

Guide to Our Collection

The Tartak Learning Center maintains an active collection of nearly 5,000 items to aid students and alumni of HUC-JIR, principals and teachers in religious schools and day schools, adult educators, camp directors and counselors, communal service professionals, rabbis, and cantors.

Most items may be checked out for 30 days unless noted as having a 7-day loan period. (Please note that you will need a library card from the HUC-JIR library in order to borrow items from the Tartak Learning Center.)

Our collection includes:

Curriculum Guides Produced by HUC-JIR Students, 1982-present” (searchable index) 

• Published curricula
  We have an eclectic collection of curricula on Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Values, Hebrew, the Bible, and more.
• Textbooks and Teacher Guides We collect Jewish education (including Hebrew language) textbooks for all ages. We have a complete collection from major Jewish education publishers.
• Teacher/Principal Resource Books We have resource books designed for teachers and principals on a variety of subjects ranging from classroom management to dealing with parents.
• Children’s Storybooks Our collection of children’s storybooks continues to grow. Currently, we have about 50 books on a range of topics from holidays to mitzvot.
• Art, Drama, and Games have a variety of books, plays, and games to supplement lessons on numerous topics within Jewish education. We also have limited art supplies you may use to create an art project.

NYSOE Capstone Projects

• The Capstone project is a substantive curriculum guide for any Jewish educational setting. In terms of scope, it could be a semester-long class in a congregational school, a year-long family education program, an 8-week module in a day school, at a Hillel, or adult education class, an online or home-based course, or a 4-week summer camp session.
• To view a list of selected Capstone Projects (2010-2018) click here.
• To request free PDF copies of any of these materials, send an email to tartak@huc.edu.

How to Get Materials

• Visit Us: Come browse our collection or make an appointment to consult with our staff.
• Email: tartak@huc.edu)
• Browse our online resources within the pages of this website.
• Search our collection using the HUC-JIR library catalog system, using the instructions below.

Please note: We do not mail books, music, videos, or software. They may be borrowed by any HUC-JIR Library cardholder. We do share digital copies of student-written curricular materials at no charge. Please email tartak@huc.edu.

Instructions for Searching the Library Catalog

Most of the resources at the Tartak Learning Center are “cataloged through the HUC-JIR library system, VTLS. This system allows you to access our inventory online by author, subject, or title.

• Visit the HUC-JIR Libraries
• The default search screen that appears has two search options called “BROWSE SEARCH” and “KEYWORD SEARCH.”
• If you choose to use the KEYWORD SEARCH, you can set a filter to limit your search to the “LA TARTAK” location. Click on SET SEARCH FILTERS just below the search box. On the next screen, scroll down to the bottom of the available filters to select the “LA TARTAK” location. Save the settings.
• If you use the simpler “BROWSE SEARCH,” enter your search type by selecting “Author,” “Title,” or one of the other options from the list in the first box.
• Enter the words to search for, such as the author’s last name, or the title, in the second box.
• Press the button labeled and a list of matching terms appears, with a count of how many items meet the criteria.
• NOTE: If there is no exact match to your search term, you will not get an error message. Instead, items falling near your term in the alphabet will be listed.
• Click on one of the terms in this initial list, and a detailed list of items appears. If the item is held at the Tartak Learning Center, it will be noted with the phrase “Available at LA Tartak.”