Gift Boosts Jewish Studies Collection at UC Santa Cruz Library

A recent donation to UCSC provides significant support to the University Library's Jewish studies collection.

The gift, a $10,000 endowment, was donated by June Bauman to establish the Bauman Jewish Studies Fund in honor of her late husband, Rabbi Morton Bauman. Interest from the endowment will provide for ongoing acquisition of new materials in Jewish studies, including books and journals.

This is the second major gift from the Bauman family to the University Library in the past three years. In 1993, the library's Jewish studies collection was enhanced by the gift of Rabbi Bauman's personal library of Judaica and related works. The Bauman collection, valued at $10,000, includes 60 sets and more than 500 single volumes including primary texts of the Talmud in Hebrew; authoritative English translations of the Talmud; commentary, critical guides, and exegesis; and general studies.

"The establishment of this endowment by Mrs. Bauman is very important," noted University Librarian Allan Dyson. "It ensures that the library's Jewish studies collection--so wonderfully enriched by Rabbi Bauman--will continue to grow and remain a vital and scholarly resource for all library users."

Materials in the Bauman collection are located in the McHenry Library open stacks and may be used by UCSC students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. Future acquisitions made through the Bauman Jewish Studies Fund will also be available for general use.

The Baumans moved to Santa Cruz in 1977, following the rabbi's retirement from Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood, after nearly 30 years of service. Bauman was also rabbi at Temple Israel in Hollywood from 1940 to 1949. He died in 1993. Mrs. Bauman, a social worker both in Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, has been a volunteer for several environmental organizations since retiring.

Additional donations to the Bauman Jewish Studies Fund may be made to the UCSC Foundation, UC Santa Cruz, Carriage House, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064.

-BARBARA MCKENNA

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