The National Yiddish Book Center has received a grant of $500,000 from Steven Spielberg's Righteous Person Foundation to help create the Steven Spielberg Digital Library, a digital version of the center's main collection.

The center was founded in 1980 by Aaron Lansky to save what remains of the world's rapidly disappearing Yiddish books. 'There were estimated to be only 70,000 Yiddish books in existence then; so far we have collected 1.5 million volumes, covering some 20,000 titles,' said Lansky. Many of the books were printed on acidic paper, and are literally crumbling to dust.

'This way, we can have the books available in our library, and other libraries or individuals can read the texts online or order a CD or a new printed version from our catalogue or Web site. Bookstores can order copies at a trade discount, and we'll print the books on demand as orders come in.' The project should take about two years.

The center is mounting a special exhibit on the Hampshire College campus in Amherst, Mass., in early May. The Web site (http://yiddishbookcenter.org ) is also up now, Lansky said.