Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto

As Toronto Public Library commemorates Holocaust Education Week 2017, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight one of Toronto Reference Library's unique collections: the library collection of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto (JGST).

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Canada (Toronto) was established in 1985 and on January 29, 2014, its name was formally changed to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto.



Also known by the abbreviations JGS Toronto or JGST, it is one of seven Jewish genealogical societies in Canada and is a member organization of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS).

The JGST's library collection is located at the Toronto Reference Library (TRL). The collection is a reference (non-circulating) collection and is housed in closed stacks on the second floor of TRL, in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department.

Although the collection is housed in a Toronto Public Library (TPL) branch, please note that the collection titles do not appear in the TPL catalogue. To make a retrieval request, please come to the second floor Humanities and Social Sciences information desk. Items will be delivered to the Marilyn & Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre on the fifth floor for viewing.

You can access the complete holdings of the JGST collection on the JGST website.

The JGST library collection includes many volumes of local Jewish family history, Who's Who in Canadian Jewry, genealogical research guides, titles on Jewish surnames, numerous Yizkor books, and chronicles of the Holocaust. In addition, items relevant to Jewish communities in Canada, United States and Europe enhance the collection.

The "Branching Out" column, which appears regularly in Shem Tov (JGST's quarterly bulletin) features new additions to the library collection, book reviews and articles of genealogical interest. An online index to back issues of Shem Tov can be viewed on the JGST website.

Some sample titles from the JGST library collection:

Bombay: Exploring the Jewish Urban Heritage (2013)

Jewish Glasgow: An Illustrated History (2013)

Lives Remembered: A Shtetl Through a Photographer's Eye (2002)

Luboml: The Memorial Book of a Vanished Shtetl (1997)