The Library wishes to emphasizes that although almost a year has passed, the survey is only a snapshot, as writing and publishing books is a long and complex process involving research, writing, editing, design, and more, often taking years to accomplish.
The survey is based, in part, on data about books received under The Books Law (Legal Deposit), which requires anyone publishing a book of more than 50 copies to deposit two copies with the National Library of Israel. NLI therefore appeals to self-published authors and/or non-Israeli publishers to send two (2) copies of their work to the Library (link below), so that these may be preserved for research and study in future generations.
The National Library of Israel estimates that in the coming years, hundreds of books will be published in an attempt to comprehend and record the full range of events now affecting Israel and the Jewish world. The Library is already aware of a very large number of memorial and commemorative books that will be published just prior to October 7, 2024, as well as many studies in various scientific fields that have not yet been published.
For the sake of comparison, the Library examined the number of books published after the Yom Kippur War. In the first year after the war (October 1973 to December 31, 1974), some 300 books were published. However, over the following 50 years, thousands of more books have been published, in Hebrew and other languages: biographies, non-fiction, memorial and commemorative books, and more.
All books on these topics become part of the National Library of Israel’s national and international effort to create a massive archive documenting October 7th and its aftermath. The Bearing Witness project seeks to build a comprehensive, state-of the-art archive that will be the authoritative historical record of this crucial period in Israeli and Jewish history, and an essential resource for generations. To date, more than 300 documentation initiatives have been gathered under the NLI umbrella, as along with 500 million Internet items, 2 million digital files, over 1,000 print publications and ephemera items, and more.
For more information about Bearing Witness and to contribute materials:
https://www.nli.org.il/en/at-your-service/who-we-are/projects/october-7
The Books Law (Legal Deposit)
https://www.nli.org.il/en/at-your-service/who-we-are/legal-acts
