Gnazim Institute
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History
Gnazim Institute was established on 1951 by the Hebrew Writers Association of Israel, and still operates under its auspices. Since 2010, it is located in the Beit Ariela library complex in Tel Aviv.
Records Management and Collecting Policies
The institute collects personal archives of Israeli writers. In the past, archives of Jewish writers from the diaspora were also collected. The policy of the institute is to acquire archives by transfer.
Archival and Other Holdings
The institute holds over 800 personal archives of writers from the 19th century to this day. Among them are archives of Y.L. Gordon, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Yosef Haim Brenner, Yehuda Burla, Rachel, Esther Raab, Leah Goldberg and Zelda and well-known contemporary writers including Yona Wallach, Avot Yeshurun, Yehuda Atlas, Nachum Gutman and Yonatan Ratosh.
The collections include manuscripts, letters, various personal documents and photographs, as well as a unique collection of recordings.
Included are manuscripts and letters of writers who perished in the Holocaust, among them David Vogel, Hillel Zeitlin and Shimon Dubnov. Some archives of well-known Yiddish authors, including Zvi Eisenman, and Mordechai Tzanin are also included.
Finding Aids, Guides, and Publication
Gnazim makes its collections accessible via its web site and online catalogue.
Research Services
Researchers are welcome to consult the archive's collection, firstly through its online catalogue, and secondly in person. The archive receives visitors five days a week, 09:00-16:00. Consultation of material requires making an appointment in advance, and the requested material can then be consulted in our reading room within the Beit Ariela library in Tel-Aviv. Consulting material is free, but fees are to be payed if copies/photos of material are desired (also when made by the visitor). Our staff speaks Hebrew and English.