Established in 1992 alongside the founding of the Joseph Carlebach Institute, the JCI Library centers on the personal scholarly collection of Prof. Dr. Miriam Gillis-Carlebach. The Library has expanded over time through significant private donations, including the published works of Rabbi Dr. Moritz Stern, as well as volumes from the personal libraries of Rabbi Ephraim Carlebach, Rabbi Hans I. Grunewald, Moshe (Manfred) Hildesheim, B.S. Jacobsohn, and others.
The Library brings together collection of scholarly resources in Jewish studies, modern German-Jewish history, theology, and related fields. The complete collection of publications issued by the Joseph Carlebach Institute includes all edited volumes and institutional series.
In addition, it preserves substantial portions of key publication series produced in collaboration with academic partners, notably the Institute for the History of the German Jews (IGdJ) and the University of Hamburg.
The Library holdings include monographs, edited volumes and conference proceedings, academic articles and offprints, audiovisual materials, archival materials.
The primary languages of the collection are German, Hebrew, and English.
In parallel with its physical collections, the Library provides access to a growing body of digitized materials, including selected books, articles, manuscripts, and photographs, designed to support research preparation and, where possible, remote consultation.