This exhibition was curated by Leora Bromberg, Acquisitions Specialist at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
Leora first started volunteering at the Bibliography Room in January 2019 during her graduate studies at the University of Toronto, where she completed a Master of Information and Master of Museum Studies with a specialization in Book History & Print Culture. In 2020, she was appointed as a Printing Apprentice & Teaching Fellow. Time spent in the print room quickly became one of the highlights of her studies. During this time, Leora began further on research the Balinson Jewish Type Collection and prepared to revive it for active use in printing projects. She wanted the collection to feel accessible to all volunteers, even those with limited to no familiarity with Hebrew and Yiddish, herself included.
From the start, Leora felt a strong personal connection with the Balinson collection. Like Henry Balinson, she too comes from a long line of Yiddish speakers (Yiddish was in fact her mother’s first language here in Canada). Growing up at summer camp, Leora was introduced to the values of socialism, social justice, labour, education, and Jewish community, which resonate with Balinson’s own ideologies. Working with the teaching collections at Massey College has reinforced her understanding of the power and importance of tactile and sensory learning experiences. These are lessons she carries with her as she embarks on her career in rare book and special collections librarianship.