The Catskills Institute
The Catskills Institute was created by the organizing committee of the History of the Catskills conference that was held in Woodridge, New York on Labor Day Weekend 1995. The energy and interest from the first conference led to the formation of the Catskills Institute, an organization to promote research and education on the significance of the Catskill Mountains for Jewish-American life. The Catskills Institute website was originally developed and hosted at Brown University, and moved to Northeastern University in 2015.
The institute's accomplishments include:
- Huge website with thousands of graphics, list of hotels and bungalow colonies, book list, self-posting bulletin board, links to other Catskills websites, fiction and nonfiction writing
- 13 annual History of the Catskills Conferences
- Creation of the world’s largest archive of material on the Jewish Catskills
- Periodic newsletter
- Genealogical assistance
- Assistance with research queries and reunions
- Research infrastructure and support for scholars
- Maintainance of a listserv on the Internet to provide interactive exchange on Catskills events
- Assistance in developing exhibitions at museums (Jewish Museum of Maryland, Spertus Museum, Museum of Jewish Heritage), synagogues, and Jewish Community Centers
- Courses on the Jewish Catskills at Brown University and Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg
- Speeches at universities, synagogues, and Jewish Community Centers