The scope of the collection is broad, encompassing most aspects of Jewish civilization biblical and rabbinic studies, Hasidism, mysticism and other Jewish movements, Jewish history and philosophy, Hebrew and Yiddish and other Jewish languages and literatures. The Jewish Studies Department was not established until 1968, but retrospective acquisitions in the form of purchases and gifts have helped compensate for this situation. The combined holdings of the McLennan and Religious Studies Libraries form a resource on an advanced research level in the area of English language studies on the Hebrew Bible.
Yiddish literature is well represented, particularly in twentieth century rare material.
The top priority in the development of the Jewish Studies collection is the maintenance of a solid basic collection to support the undergraduate curriculum. The appointment of a professor in modern Hebrew literature has prompted a review of holdings in this area, with a view to filling in lacunae in the works of its major authors. The Jewish Studies Department provides a full range of courses at the undergraduate level in Jewish Studies and a Master of Arts degree by course and thesis. Plans are in effect to obtain formal approval to raise the graduate programme to a Ph.D. level. Collection development is the responsibility of the Jewish Studies Bibliographer.