This article examines the holdings of Hebrew libraries in
Morocco during the first half of the twentieth century, within the
framework of book history. By analyzing these holdings, I explore
which books were read by readers in Morocco and, consequently,
assess the strength of spiritual movements and the extent to
which ideas, cultural elements, and ideologies circulated during
the period in question.
I reconstruct the Hebrew library in Morocco from partial
and heterogeneous lists, whose compilation offers a more
comprehensive picture. As a foundation for this discussion, I begin
with an overview of the rabbinic library in Morocco, followed by
the maskilic library, and then compare the two. Subsequently, I
outline the socio-cultural history that led to the emergence of the
Hebrew library in Morocco and, through three case studies, sketch
its defining features. I conclude with a comparative discussion of
the three types of libraries: Hebrew, rabbinic, and maskilic. The
article seeks to contribute to the limited scholarship on libraries in
Islamic countries, which has thus far focused primarily on rabbinic
libraries, by introducing a discussion of Hebrew libraries associated
.with maskilim and with devotees of the Hebrew language
,While the article centers on the Hebrew library in Morocco
its broader aim is to offer a conceptual framework for the study
of libraries in general – and Hebrew libraries in particular – in
.Islamic lands, which remain largely underexplored