Litwack Collection Expands Mahoney Library Holdings

Nathan and Aida Litwack recently donated to Mahoney Library a substantial portion of their personal library, thereby enriching the college’s collections in many areas. Approximately seven thousand volumes arrived at Mahoney Library at the end of the spring term, and the library staff has been working diligently to process the collection and make it available to the community. Many volumes have already been catalogued, and are on the shelves waiting for researchers.

The donors of this collection are long-time residents of West Orange. Nathan Litwack was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1918. His family came to New York in 1919, and Mr. Litwack grew up in East Harlem and the Bronx. Aida Litwack is a native of the Bronx. The Litwacks have been married for 68 years, and speak with great pride of their three sons and daughters-in-law, and their seven grandchildren. Having recently moved from their family home to smaller quarters, they are delighted to have found a good home for their library.

Mr. Litwack attributes his lifelong love of books and libraries to his parents. His father, a pushcart peddler and later small business owner, was a self-educated man who instilled in his family a love of books and learning. Recounting his first visit to the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library as a small child, Mr. Litwack declares that it was then that his desire for a library of his own was born. He speaks eloquently of his many interests; of the movies of his childhood, of attending performances at the Apollo Theatre to see such jazz luminaries as Duke Ellington, of his work as a labor and civil rights activist in the 1930s and 40s, of his involvement with the burning social issues of the day. His library reflects the diversity of his interests, and has enriched Mahoney’s holdings in the areas of Jewish literature and Jewish studies, sociology and social history, labor relations and political science, and the arts.

Mahoney Library is not the only beneficiary of the Litwack’s generosity. The library at SUNY Purchase, the alma mater of one of their grandsons, has also received a substantial donation, including a large collection of popular sheet music from the twentieth century. Other libraries have also received smaller donations. Having divested themselves of the collection of a lifetime, Mr. and Mrs. Litwack have said, only half in jest, that they are starting over to fill the bookshelves of their new home.

Mahoney Library and the College of Saint Elizabeth wish to express their gratitude to Nathan and Aida Litwack for sharing their beloved books with our community. Their donation will enrich the works of our students for years to come. To see a small selection of the riches of this collection, visit Mahoney Library and examine the contents of the exhibit cases near the front entrance, which are currently showcasing the Litwack collection.

- Leslie Murtha, Temporary Reference/Instruction Librarian