How can I find the book 'Histoire des Juifs de Rhodes, Chio, Cos, etc.'?

January 19, 2005 10:39 PM

RareBookFilter - Have tried using amazon.com, amazon.fr, amazon.co.uk, bn.com, alibris.com, powells.com, abebooks.com, bibliofind.com, and a saved search on eBay.com, all to track down a certain out-of-print book. No luck. Even the LA and NYC public libraries got nuthin'. Fabled MeFite librarian posse, how the hell can I get my grubby paws on a copy of "Histoire des Juifs de Rhodes, Chio, Cos, etc." by Professor Abraham Galanté (1873 - 1961), published in Istanbul in 1935?
posted by Asparagirl to writing & language (15 comments total)

I would prefer to buy a copy, but I'm also willing to get a loaner to do Xerox duty, since the book is likely out of copyright. (I'm sure a nice Turkish copyright lawyer will let me know if I'm wrong.) This is a seminal work, referenced in quite a few papers and books that I've read lately, so how the heck can it be so hard to find?

UCLA's library has a lot of his other works, but not this one, and Seattle's public library is also a bust, despite the fact that the people he's writing about mostly ended up in Los Angeles and Seattle.
posted by Asparagirl at 10:55 PM on January 19, 2005

This doesn't help in your quest to buy a copy, but I just did a quick search on WorldCat, and it appears to be at the following school libraries, with the library codes appended at the end of each line:

CA STANFORD UNIV LIBR STF
DC LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LNN
IA UNIV OF IOWA LIBR NUI
MA BRANDEIS UNIV LIBR MBB
MA HARVARD UNIV, HARVARD COL LIBR HLS
OH HEBREW UNION COL HUC
OH OHIO STATE UNIV, THE OSU
PA UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA, CTR JUDAIC STUDIES DRP
EU JEWISH NAT & UNIV LIBR J9U
EU UNIV OF LEEDS ERL

Yale University also has it.
posted by fionab at 11:03 PM on January 19, 2005

Thanks, fionab! But do you think any of those libraries/collections would lend the book to a Los Angeles area library? (I know Penn, my alma mater, wouldn't. Greedy hobbitses.) The closest library on that list is Stanford, 4+ hours away, and I don't know if they'll even let me in the door if I'm not a student or official-type researcher.
posted by Asparagirl at 11:11 PM on January 19, 2005

I don't know if they would or not -- I'd say to ask the UCLA librarians if they can order it for you from one of the other places. According to this site, Stanford will lend its books (as long as it's not in a special collection) out to schools in the UC system for 4 weeks. I couldn't find a lending policy on the UCLA site, but they do have fines for non-UC borrowers, so I assume it's a possibility that they'd order it for you, even if you're not a student there. Contact them personally and go from there. Good luck!
posted by fionab at 11:24 PM on January 19, 2005

According to redlightgreen RLG's equivalent of WorldCat (RLG tends toward university libraries rather than public libraries), it's available at the following LA-area libraries:

United States - California - Culver City - West Los Angeles College
United States - California - Downey - County of Los Angeles Public Library
United States - California - Los Angeles - California State University Los Angeles
United States - California - Los Angeles - Gene Autry Museum Library
United States - California - Los Angeles - Getty Research Institute
United States - California - Los Angeles - Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion
United States - California - Los Angeles - Los Angeles City College
United States - California - Los Angeles - Los Angeles County Law Library
United States - California - Los Angeles - Loyola Marymount University - Von Der Ahe Library
United States - California - Los Angeles - Loyola Marymount
United States - California - Los Angeles - Loyola University Law School
United States - California - Los Angeles - Mount St. Marys College
United States - California - Los Angeles - Occidental College
United States - California - Los Angeles - Southwestern University School of Law
United States - California - Los Angeles - University of California, Los Angeles
United States - California - Los Angeles - University of Judaism, Ostrow Library
United States - California - Los Angeles - University of Judaism
United States - California - Los Angeles - University of Southern California Law
United States - California - Los Angeles - University of Southern California, Law Library
United States - California - Los Angeles - University of Southern California
United States - California - Monterey Park - East Los Angeles College - Helen Miller Bailey Library
United States - California - Wilmington - Los Angeles Harbor College
posted by IshmaelGraves at 11:32 PM on January 19, 2005

PS: I've successfully asked for books that were only in one or two libraries, so I have a good feeling you'll get your hands on the book. I just searched Stanford's catalog, and it looks like their copy is in the stacks [and not in a special collection]. This gives you a much better chance of requesting it through the Interlibrary Loan.

Author: Galanté, Abraham, 1873-
Title: Histoire des Juifs de Rhodes, Chio, Cos etc.
Imprint: Istanbul, Société Anonyme de Papeterie et d'Imprimerie (Fratelli Haim) 1935.
Physical Description: 177,ii p. facsims. 23 cm.
1) DS135 .R4 G25 1935 1 STACKS

[Doh! On preview, those are much better options!]
posted by fionab at 11:34 PM on January 19, 2005

Ack — never mind, that's all the RLG member libraries in LA. However, the Hebrew Union College, with an LA branch, has it listed. It's unclear from the record whether it's at the LA branch or one of the others, but it may be worth enquiring about.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 11:36 PM on January 19, 2005

Dammit. That link is here. I'm a bit off tonight, apparently.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 11:37 PM on January 19, 2005

Looks like that copy is located in the stacks of the Cincinnati branch, IshmaelGraves. Still, it's definitely worth a try as a backup to the Stanford-->UCLA plan, which is heading up the list at the moment.

But I continue to hold out a flicker of hope that I could somehow, somewhere, just buy the darn book. Is there a book search website I've missed (i.e. not listed in the original question), or a messageboard/listserve/hangout somewhere for rare book owners, or something else, where I can post my request?
posted by Asparagirl at 12:18 AM on January 20, 2005

The Barnes & Noble and Tomfolio sites both list a number of other titles by Prof. Galanté held by the Tappin Book Mine, a store in Florida: perhaps they might have some more information to help in your search...
posted by misteraitch at 12:37 AM on January 20, 2005

Though it didn't come up in the regular search, Schoenhof's in Harvard Square, Cambridge, is usually able to get their hands on just about any foriegn book you can think of. Email them at [e-mail] and ask.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:32 AM on January 20, 2005

You could try Exedra.
posted by nylon at 7:00 AM on January 20, 2005

I don't know if they'll even let me in the door if I'm not a student or official-type researcher.

You can ask if they offer "community membership" or some such similar thing (the actual term varies from library to library). If they do you'll probably need to present photo id, etc. - but you should be able to get an account. If it's an old-ish book, and you want to use it a lot for research, you might be better off making a 1st generation copy, from which you can make bound 2nd generation copies for marking up, note-taking, etc.
posted by carter at 8:24 AM on January 20, 2005

This page here alludes to the ability for non-alumni to purchase access to Stanford's major campus libraries (Meyer and Green) for $5/day. (Loan priveleges also seem to be available, albeit at a much greater cost.) There's also a phone number listed for library access questions.

If worst came to worst, I'm an alum in the SF Bay Area and could probably be roped into popping onto campus on your behalf. Email addy's in my profile.
posted by youhas at 3:23 PM on January 20, 2005

Thank you all for your help! I'll be off to the UCLA library this weekend to try my luck...
posted by Asparagirl at 6:02 PM on January 21, 2005