The Library Minyan was formed in 1971. It is called the Library Minyan because it originally met in Temple Beth Am's library. Most of the initial members were in their late twenties and early thirties, many of whom were married with young families. These founding members included young rabbis and others who studied together every Shabbat before services. Continuing that tradition, the Library Minyan holds a Mishnah study session every Shabbat before services. The original members created a "self-led" Minyan where the participants led the services themselves from week to week. There was no single rabbi to serve as spiritual leader and guide the community. Instead, the rabbis who were members participated with the lay members in formulating religious policies through consensus, but consistent with the policies of the shul and the Conservative movement.

The Minyan started with twenty to thirty people. By the late 1970s, it had outgrown the library. It moved first to a youth building adjacent to the shul and then to the old Beth Am Chapel, which was large enough to accommodate a Minyan that by then had grown to over 100 worshippers. Today, around 200 people on average attend services each Shabbat. The vast majority of the members are not rabbis, but many of the members are leaders of various Jewish organizations in Los Angeles.

Throughout its history the Library Minyan has been studying and discussing religious issues in an effort to adapt itself to modernity, while retaining its commitment to Halakhic observance and the basic tenets of Conservative Judaism. As just one example, from 1975 to the early 1980s the Minyan went through an extended study process to understand, clarify, and address the issue of women's participation in the services. As a result, the Minyan decided to become completely egalitarian, thus not only allowing women to read Torah but also counting them for a Minyan and enabling them to lead the services. Although Conservative synagogues in Los Angeles had long allowed girls to read the Torah and Haftorah and to become Bat Mitzvah, none allowed them to serve as shlichei tzibbur and lead the services. The Library Minyan was a pioneer in this area. Similarly, it was the Library Minyan that first decided to allow the inclusion of the names of our Matriarchs in the Amidah, a variation in liturgy that has recently become a standard alternative in Conservative prayer.

The Minyan continues to face challenges in a dynamic way. Through all such discussions the Library Minyan has maintained its founding principles of textual study, open discussion, and decision making by consensus. It also remains committed to its longstanding goal: to create an environment that enables each individual to participate equally and experience more fully his or her own spirituality.

Nadine Gerson prepared this brief history of the Minyan for her daughter's Bat Mitzvah based on information provided by two of the Minyan's founding members, Rabbi Elliot Dorff and Rabbi Joel Rembaum.