Elyachar Central Library


The Elyachar Central Library is the central body in the Technion library system. As such, it has a dual role: to provide an infrastructure for all the Technion libraries and to provide various services to its patrons. The Central Library determines policies and guidelines for all the Technion libraries. The library's building is located in the heart of the Nave-Shaanan Campus in Haifa. Funding for the building was contributed by Colonel Jehiel Elyachar and the library is named after him.

Background

When the Technion was founded in 1924, in Hadar HaCarmel in Haifa, a library was established; it maintained the collections of all the different disciplines studied and researched in the Technion. In the 1950s and 1960s, the majority of the faculties moved from the historic campus to the new campus in the Nave-Shaanan neighborhood. Small research libraries were set up in the new faculty buildings. The original library, which became the central library, continued its acquisition, cataloging, classification and document supply activities for itself and for all the research libraries. In 1965 the present library building was constructed on the new campus. The library was named in honor of Colonel Jehiel Elyachar, who funded the project. Elyachar donated additional funds for an expansion in 1969 and for renovations in 1982.
The building was designed by Arieh Sharon and Benjamin Edelson in the Brutalist architectural style. There are reading halls on three floors and a basement for storage. The reading halls include several study areas and books that are in high demand and used often including textbooks, reference books and literature. The basement archives historical collections and materials that are significant for research. This floor also houses books that are infrequently used, historical journals and the Technion theses collection. The floor includes a special climate controlled room that preserves rare, ancient and precious books. In addition, several historical collections from the second half of The 20th Century, such as a collection of research reports written in the Technion, a collection of study and exercise books produced by the Technion Student Association, a collection of Technion publications, the historical collections of the Technion Construction Department and the Technion Orchestra archive, can be found on this floor. In the library lobby is a gallery that displays temporary artistic exhibits on Technion related subjects. In the future a cafeteria will be opened in the lobby. According to library data, approximately 2000 patrons visit the library daily.
The Central Library serves as an institutional repository for all PhD, MSc and MD theses written in the Technion. Theses written from 2006 through 2015 were deposited in both electronic and print formats and from 2016 only in electronic format. The full text of the theses is available on the Technion's internal network and in the future will be freely available on the internet as well.
The library committee is a formal body appointed by the Technion Senate. Its role is to discuss and advise the Technion administration on the libraries' development policies, their budgets and personnel. The members of the committee are the Senior Executive Vice President, three professors and the Director of the Central Library.

Central Library Directors

The Central Library makes policies and provides services for all Technion libraries in the following four fields:

Information Technology

This field is responsible for the information systems and technological infrastructure used by all Technion libraries.
Additional Services and developments:
This field is responsible for all services provided to patrons visiting the Technion libraries:
This field is responsible for collection development and its access.
Additional responsibilities:
This field is responsible for personnel, budgets, logistics and the central library building.