Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning plans to establish a central archive to house all of its more than 95,000 books and periodicals and its many priceless manuscripts under one roof for the benefit of scholars. Dr. Solomon Grayzel, professor of history at the post-graduate institution, said the plans depended upon the availability of funds from benefactors.
Addressing a symposium of the Society of American Archivists, Dr. Grayzel noted that Dropsie College is the repository of some 450 fragments from the Cairo Genizah in Hebrew and Arabic, among which is a fragment from a Bible Codex more than 1,000 years old. He said the college also possesses the oldest known Passover Haggadah dating back to the eighth Century; 256 Oriental manuscripts, some fragments of Coptic papyri, 32 incunabula dating back to the first printing of books before the year 1500, and 290 books from the 16th Century. Among other prized possessions is a stone from the Third Wall of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem, Dr. Grayzel said. The new center would facilitate research for the faculty and student body and would make the archives more accessible to scholars from all over the world, he said.
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