About LJLA

Resource Centre and Community Hub

Welcome to the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia

The Lamm Jewish Library of Australia (LJLA) is a unique and significant national Jewish resource centre and community hub.

Its establishment was the result of broad and specialized community consultation regarding current and future community needs. It was born out of the merger of the Makor Jewish library together with important collections from the Kadimah and the Holocaust centre. The library also houses a number of private collections that have been bequeathed, in particular the collections of Serge Liberman and Isabella and Joe Getreu.

Memoirs published

Library members

Community events

Number of books

In the Press

What People Say

Our Volunteers

The LJLA has over 46,000 books, a rapidly expanding collection of electronic books, both ebooks and audiobooks, many hundreds of other audio-visual materials comprising DVDs and CDs and has posters as well as journals in English, Hebrew and Yiddish. The LJLA online catalogue lists the holdings of ten organisations including the collections held at the Kadimah Jewish Cultural Centre, the Jewish Holocaust Centre and the Jewish Museum of Australia. The Library also houses the collections of the Australian Jewish Genealogical society and the Australian Jewish Historical society.

The State Government under former Premier John Brumby gave its seal of approval for the project in November 2010 when it presented the Zionist council with a one million dollar grant for the expansion of the Makor Jewish Community Library into a national Jewish library. The grant was conditional upon matching funds being provided and the generous donation by Mr Rafi Lamm and his parents Dr Danny and Dr Rolene Lamm more than met that condition.

The new library premises were officially opened in 2016 by Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu, who paid tribute to the Australian Jewish community.

Dr Danny Lamm AM past president of the ZCV and the ECAJ and immediate past president of the ZFA said “ The Lamm Jewish Library of Australia is poised to be a cornerstone of Jewish communal life and our family is delighted to be directly involved in its foundation and future development.”

Dr Rolene Lamm, the chairperson of the LJLA endorses the library’s Mission Statement:

“The Lamm Jewish Library of Australia is a unique resource centre established to provide comprehensive information services on Jewish literary, genealogical, cultural, historical and religious topics and issues for the Australian community. “

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

This modern, multifaceted community hub of Jewish information and cultural activity is housed at 304 – 306 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield South, within the Beth Weizmann Jewish community centre. It is a lovely facility which provides easy access to specialized library collections, for leisure, special interest and research . It is a welcoming environment for people of all ages, providing quiet spaces for reading, private study and research, as well as open areas for discussions, events, book clubs, children’s story time and film screenings. There is also a pleasant garden space.