I’m Vicki Weber, and one of the things I’m in charge of here at Behrman House is our catalog. It’s fun—I get to work with all the new books; and challenging—I’ve got to find just the right spot for each of our 632 titles, with new ones coming every year.
In the past two years, I’ve added lots more color and made the catalog pages bigger, so you can really see the book covers and sample textbook pages. I’ve reorganized entries to make everything clearer and easier to find.
This year I even put photos of our customer service staff on the back cover so you can visualize the people who are helping you get your books. And the cute little girl on the cover? She’s a member of my synagogue. We held a photo shoot one afternoon during religious school, and took loads of great photos that will be showing up in many of our new books this year.
Here are a few “power reading” tips to help you get the most out of our catalog.
Catalog Power Reading Tips
· Browse the first 16 pages to see this year’s new books, in color.
· Check the Pull-Out Hebrew and Judaica Planners at the end of the color section. These handy guides let you see at a glance the full range of titles we offer for each grade level and subject, and direct you straight to more information on each title. You can find a fill-in title for a specific grade and subject, or sketch out a complete curriculum.
· Want to compare titles you already have an interest in, or need to write up a presentation for your school committee? Alphabetical and subject indexes at the back of the catalog lead directly to in-depth book descriptions and sample pages.
· Looking for ideas for a particular grade? Our Judaica titles are organized by grade level, and each chapter begins with our ever popular “Student Profiles” that outline educational development milestones for every age.
· We have 53 pages of Hebrew choices, with overviews and detailed descriptions of each major series, sample pages, and helpful tips on everything from how to stretch your textbook budget to how to sign your students up for special features such as ongoing Hebrew assessment. It all starts on page 69.
· And there’s more: classroom resources (folders, flash cards, posters, certificates, plays, teaching guides); gift ideas; haggadot; and classic reference books that should be on every educators’ bookshelf.
Part of the fun in working on the catalog is learning odd little things about the books it showcases. Below are a few pieces of catalog trivia.
Longevity Award—the three oldest titles in our catalog:
As A Driven Leaf, 1939; Talmudic Anthology, 1945; Traditional Prayerbook, 1960
Number of individual Hebrew titles in the catalog: 217
Number of educator testimonials, in print and online: 38
Number of complimentary titles offered through the catalog: 21
Number of years we’ve had the same 800 number (800-221-2755): 22
OOPS! There’s a big typo on page 11—can you find it? (I’ll be sure to fix it before the next edition!)
You don’t have a catalog? Click here.
Something special you’d like to see in the catalog? Write to me, vicki@behrmanhouse.com. I’d love to hear from you.
