Library
The “Gérard Nordmann” library is the only specialized Judaica / Jewish public library in the French speaking part of Switzerland, with a collection of nearly 30,000 volumes and other printed documents.
The “Gérard Nordmann” library is the only specialized Judaica / Jewish public library in the French speaking part of Switzerland, with a collection of nearly 30,000 volumes and other printed documents.
Created in 1945, the library’s collection offers material in a great variety of languages (Aramaic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Ladino, Latin, Spanish and Yiddish) and categories (rabbinic literature and liturgy, literature, history, philosophy and modern sociology), thanks to continuous new acquisitions.
It houses the private library of Rabbi Haim Lauer, former Grand Rabbi of Mannheim and thereafter Bienne, has a rich selection of prewar Rabbinic literature and German Judaica as well as Nehmad ve Naïm (Prague, 1613), an exceptional valued manuscript of Rabbi David GANS.
The library is registered with the Swiss Federal Cultural Office as a collection of national importance. It is located on the first floor of the CIG and open to the public.
Permanent sale of special books: Click here
Book Donations: Please bring us only books that are not listed in our online catalog. The other books can be donated to social work. Thank you for your understanding.
Opening time
| Monday | 1:30 | – | 4:30 | pm |
| Tuesday | 3:00 | – | 7:00 | pm |
| Wednesday | 3:00 | – | 7:00 | pm |
| Thursday | 3:30 | – | 7:00 | pm |
| Friday | Closed | |||
| Saturday & Sunday | Closed |