Fanny Goldstein

Fanny Goldstein (1895-1961) was an American librarian, bibliographer, and editor who founded Jewish Book Week. As head of the West End branch of the Boston Public Library (BPL), she was the first Jew to direct a public library branch in Massachusetts. During her tenure Goldstein made a point of recognizing the literature of the various ethnic communities of Boston, and curated a unique collection of Judaica. She also published literary articles and bibliographies and gave lectures on Jewish literature. After retiring in 1958 she became the literary editor of the Jewish Advocate. Early life and education Goldstein was born on May 15, 1895, in Kamenets-Podolsk, Russia, to Philip and Bella Spillberg Goldstein. She moved to the United States with her family in 1900, settling in the North End of Boston, where she attended the Hancock Grammar School. As a child she dreamed of becoming a doctor. Her father died when she was 13, however, and Fanny was forced to leave school to help support her mother and four siblings. Around that time she joined the Saturday Evening Girls club, a reading group for young immigrant women in the North End. From 1912 to 1917 Goldstein served as editor-in-chief of the S. E. G. News, the club's newspaper. Through the club's founder, librarian Edith Guerrier, Goldstein became an assistant at the North End Branch of the BPL in 1913. While working at the library she took several classes at Simmons College, Boston University, and Harvard University.