Explore the Freedman Jewish Sound Archive
The Robert and Molly Freedman Jewish Music Archive currently contains over 4000 recordings, primarily in Yiddish and Hebrew.
In Memoriam: Molly Freedman (nee Crasner)
1935—2022
Penn’s Judaica Collections and the Jewish Studies Program mourn the passing of Molly Freedman. Molly was an integral part of our library community for more than two decades. She and her husband Robert Freedman served as volunteer curators of the world-famous Robert and Molly Freedman Jewish Sound Archive located in the Kislak Center for Special Collections at the Penn Libraries.
Molly built the collection in lifelong partnership with her beloved husband Bob. Together they traveled the world in search of treasured Jewish sound recordings. She also helped catalog the Jewish sheet music collection in the Archive. Molly would often join Bob for countless class and community presentations. Molly was a bright light and joyful presence who brought warmth and kindness to all. We at the Libraries are grief-stricken by her loss and extend our sympathies and condolences to Bob, the Freedman family, and to all Molly’s friends and admirers.