The Magnes staff at the Cody Awards


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The Magnes receives the 2023 Cody Award

April 12, 2023

The Berkeley Public Library Foundation presented The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life with the 2023 Fred & Pat Cody Award at the Foundation’s  20th annual Authors Dinner on March 4th.

“The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life is a resource of remarkable depth and breadth,” said Karen Bird, president of the Berkeley Public Library Foundation. “In particular, we are excited to recognize The Magnes for its outstanding library collection, which serves as an invaluable resource for Jewish research, scholarship, and teaching.”

Each year the Foundation presents the Cody Award to honor outstanding work to shape, broaden, and illuminate Berkeley’s literary landscape. It was first presented in 2004 and is named for Fred and Pat Cody, the founders of Cody’s Books.

Hannah Weisman and Karen Bird with the Cody Award
Berkeley Public Library Foundation President Karen Bird presenting the 2023 Cody Award to Magnes Executive Director Hannah Weisman. Photo credit: Shanette Kay Photography.

“It is especially poignant for The Magnes to receive an award in memory of Pat and Fred Cody. They, like Magnes founders Seymour and Rebecca Fromer, brought to Berkeley a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity and each left indelible legacies on the area.” Magnes Executive Director Hannah Weisman stated. “My colleagues and I are committed to honoring those legacies by continuing to care for our diverse collections; inviting you all into the museum to indulge your own curiosity; and engaging campus and public audiences in asking and seeking answers to universal questions about identity, belonging, migration, and cultural practice.”

“We are excited to recognize The Magnes for its outstanding library collection, which serves as an invaluable resource for Jewish research, scholarship, and teaching.”

Karen Bird, President of the Berkeley Public Library Foundation

Accepting the award on behalf of colleagues past and present, Weisman attended the ceremony with Curator Francesco Spagnolo, Registrar Julie Franklin, Communications Manager Laura Bratt, former Preparator Ernest Jolly, and former Assistant Curator Shir Kochavi.

Previous recipients of the Cody Award include Bay Area Book Festival, Pegasus Books, Stephen M. Silberstein, and Alice Waters.





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