165:, and the fire chief, for the initial foray into the damp, charred stacks. The fire had been confined primarily to the upper stacks, which housed mostly second and third copies of books, although some important recent acquisitions had also been kept there. But the water had caused enormous damage and the growth of mold threatened to do more.
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After rejecting several methods for drying the water-soaked books, the suggestion was brought to Rabbi David Kogen, then-vice chancellor of the
Seminary, to place paper towels between the pages of every book to absorb the moisture. Volunteers of all ages were recruited from around the neighborhood
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The tower, with only few small windows, was the perfect environment for a major conflagration. There were no floors separating one level from another, only steel library stacks surrounded by catwalks. The tower was like an oven and the fire spread quickly. Extinguishing it was extremely difficult,
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to the highest floor that could be safely reached. The firefighters spread canvas tarpaulins over as many shelves of books as they could, while hook and ladder trucks sprayed water through the highest openings in the tower, cascading down to the fire below. The fire was declared under control at
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The library's book collection was rebuilt with the help of donations from private and institutional libraries. The books were moved to a prefabricated building in the JTS courtyard that remained until a new library building was completed in 1984.
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The library now exceeds 380,000 volumes. With the assistance of the Horace W. Goldsmith
Foundation, 35,000 books that were saved from the fire and placed in high-density storage are being restored and catalogued.
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was discovered on Monday, April 18, 1966, at 10:15 AM when smoke was seen pouring from one of the small upper windows of the
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Some 70,000 volumes were destroyed in the fire and many more were damaged. The library's rare books and
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students were brought in to help. The paper toweling was supplied by local retailers and manufacturers.
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with only one entrance and stairwell from the bottom and limited window access.
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LOST MEMORY - LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES DESTROYED IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
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at the time, joined Gerson Cohen, the future chancellor of the
237:"The Jewish Theological Seminary - About The Library"
154:about 7:00 PM, nine hours after it was discovered.
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180:, which were stored elsewhere, were spared.
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272:Conservative Judaism in New York (state)
117:Jewish Theological Seminary Library fire
28:Jewish Theological Seminary Library fire
18:Jewish Theological Seminary library fire
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282:Jewish Theological Seminary of America
163:Jewish Theological Seminary of America
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121:Jewish Theological Seminary Library
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302:School fires in the United States
149:Alfred Eckert dispatched masked
307:1966 fires in the United States
297:Morningside Heights, Manhattan
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59:Broadway and 122nd Street in
198:List of destroyed libraries
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222:September 5, 2012, at the
36:April 18, 1966
157:Menahem Schmelzer, the
98:40.811889°N 73.960639°W
287:Libraries in Manhattan
267:1966 in New York City
103:40.811889; -73.960639
127:and 122nd Street in
129:Morningside Heights
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61:Morningside Heights
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171:Jewish day school
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16:(Redirected from
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277:Jewish libraries
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245:. Retrieved
241:the original
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151:firefighters
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89:73°57′38.3″W
86:40°48′42.8″N
178:manuscripts
101: /
76:Coordinates
261:Categories
247:2007-10-27
204:References
147:Fire Chief
40:1966-04-18
159:librarian
133:Manhattan
123:tower at
65:Manhattan
220:Archived
192:See also
125:Broadway
56:Location
51:10:15 AM
38: (
169:and
115:The
48:Time
33:Date
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218:(
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