Freidus Abraham Solomon (1867, Riga — 1923) - librarian and bibliographer.

In 1886 Abraham Freidus left for Paris, later working in the agricultural settlement of Zikhron Ya'akov in Palestine. He also lived for a short time in London, and in the autumn of 1889 settled in New York City. There he completed a course in library science at the Pratt Institute in 1894 and began working as a cataloger at the New York Public Library.

In 1897 he was appointed the first head of the Department of Hebraica and Judaica, whose collections were established through the donation of the prominent philanthropist Jacob Schiff. He remained in this position for the rest of his life. Under his leadership, the department became one of the most authoritative collections of Jewish printed works in the world.

Freidus was the first to develop a systematic classification scheme for Jewish literature, comprising more than 500 subdivisions, notable for its clarity and accessibility. This system was later adopted by many other American libraries. Owing to his exceptional bibliographic expertise, he became an indispensable guide for scholars seeking relevant materials. The editors of the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906) expressed special gratitude to him for his contributions.

Works:

A Scheme of Classification for Jewish Literature (New York, 1897)

Literature:

Studies in Jewish Bibliography and Related Subjects in Memory of A. S. Freidus (New York, 1929)