Hi everyone, we are most fortunate at the library, to have received a neat research paper for our collection that offers a look at the history of both the local Jewish community and the related Beth Israel Congregation of Corning.

The paper, titled A History of the Beth Israel Congregation of Corning, New York, was written by local historian Austin Reid, who gave us the following description of his work, specifically for this special local history post:

“This work highlights key milestones in Beth Israel’s history, including the establishment of the congregation, the changing community members, and the contributions made by Beth Israel’s members to Corning’s civic life. This history also explores the challenges faced by Corning’s Jewish community, such as sustaining membership and adapting to changing demographics over the decades. While Beth Israel disbanded by 2000, as of 2024, a Jewish presence remains in Corning. Though modest in size, Corning’s Jewish community has made significant contributions to the history of Steuben County.” — Austin David Reid

While we were discussing his paper, Mr. Reid mentioned that he was inspired to investigate the history of the Beth Israel Congregation by an article he found online titled What it’s like to be a Jewish teenager in a small town right now by Leila Ianovici; and I’ve included a link to that article here: https://www.jta.org/2023/12/18/united-states/what-its-like-to-be-a-jewish-teenager-in-a-small-town-right-now

A copy of Mr. Reid’s research paper will shortly be added to our local history collection.

And in the meantime, Mr. Reid has graciously agreed to allow us to offer public access to his paper, which you can read here:

A big thank you goes out to Mr. Reid for thinking of the library in donating a copy of his research! (Thank you, Mr. Reid!!)

Have a great day everyone,

Linda Reimer, SSCL