Jewish Library in Dayton Initiates Door to Door Service

This Midwestern Chabad House takes books so seriously, that it will even bring them to your home. That is, of course, if you live in the greater Dayton, Ohio community.

For the past three years, Chabad-Lubavitch of Greater Dayton’s Schear Multimedia Library has provided children’s and adult books, computer games, DVDs, CDs, board games and other similar items, all Jewish in content, to its community. Of late, however, the library has introduced a home and Jewish community center delivery service that has made the library’s accessibility and reach even greater.

The library, which is housed in the Weprin Family Center for Jewish Life and Learning in Dayton’s Oakwood section, has an extensive online database with a searchable list of its offerings. With library card in hand, interested readers can browse the library’s selections online and request delivery, or visit the library in-person at its location or at the various other locations in the Greater Dayton area where the books may be temporarily displayed.

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“People have increased borrowing since we introduced delivery,” said Rabbi Levi Simon, youth and program director at Chabad-Lubavitch of Greater Dayton.

Even with increased borrowing, the library has plenty to offer. Its books range in topics from basic Judaism, Chasidic thought, Jewish history and holidays, as well as children’s and young adult literature. It also hosts a monthly story and craft hour for its younger borrowers.

“The library has great educational value for the children,” said Patti Schear, who sponsored the library with her husband. “It’s fulfilling for the children to have a place to go for Jewish books that they wouldn’t have access to before.”

In addition to appreciating the children’s offerings, Eileen Wolf also checks out books for herself. While she chooses items about Shabbat and the holidays for her children, she selects parenting books and collections of Torah stories for herself.

“I don’t live that close to the Chabad center, so I otherwise might not have gotten [the books],” she said. “They help me a lot.”

Devorah Malka Wittig, another local resident, uses the library “frequently” as a reference source, and as a way to try books before adding them to her own home collection.

“It’s amazing,” said Wittig, who checks out about one book a month and whose main interest is in the mystical aspects of Judaism, “because a little bit of everything is available. It’s so much more complete than what I have at home. There’s something for everyone, from the serious student to someone who just wants a little bit of inspiration.”

For Simon, the library is an ideal medium for community outreach.

“One of our goals is to bring Judaism to the community,” he said. “The library does that in a nice way because people have the choice to learn what they want.”