Our Library

Welcome to the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia.

The Lamm Jewish Library of Australia (LJLA) is a comprehensive national resource centre and community hub based in Melbourne.

The library houses over 44,000 books of fiction and non fiction in English Hebrew and Yiddish. This is in addition to posters, journals, large print books, children’s books, as well as old, rare and special historical items.

As an important community hub and education centre, we provide spaces for browsing books, researching, studying, reading, meeting and having events. Catering to all ages an interests, the library offers a range of high quality literary events, author talks, book launches, book and poetry readings, lectures, and panel discussions with prominent Australian and international speakers, covering a wide range of topics.

The Lamm Jewish Library of Australia is home to thousands of rare and unique items that are of significant historical, cultural, and religious importance. These items include books, newspapers, pamphlets, posters, and other materials that are often one-of-a-kind and some of which date back more than a century. We house several special historical item collections, such as our Rare Haggadot collection, and several private collections of books and historical items that have been bequeathed or donated to us, such as The Trevor and Heather Cohen Family Memorabilia Collection.

Since 1988, the library has been home to the Write Your Story (WYS) program, a memoir writing and editing service for members of our community. Over 20 years, the library has helped to publish more than 150 titles, many testimonies of the Holocaust, and all of them telling of the rich and varied history of Australia’s Jewish community.

The Library was established through broad consultation on the long-term needs of our local Jewish community. In 2010 the State Government under former Premier John Brumby gave its seal of approval for the project when it presented the community with a $1,000,000 grant for the expansion of the Makor Jewish Community Library into a National Jewish Library. The grant was generously supported by a donation from Mr Rafi Lamm and his parents Dr Danny Lamm and Dr Rolene Lamm.

The Library aims to:

• Provide access to major collections of Jewish knowledge and research materials
• Act as an electronic hub for a national network providing connection to Jewish resources across Australia and beyond
• Provide a cultural hub and focal point for the community