Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Nov 19 2004
Library receives immense collection
Defunct college donates 12,500 Armenian-language books to the
Glendale Public Library, valued at about $500,000, quadrupling the
library’s collection.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
GLENDALE – Whenever the Glendale Public Library tried to add
Armenian-language books to its collection, the library always had to
pay a premium. The books are hard to find, and because they are hard
to find, they are expensive.
This week, the library hit pay dirt.
The American Armenian International College, a school affiliated with
the University of La Verne that has been closed for more than a
decade, is donating its entire Armenian-language collection to
Glendale.
The donation of 12,500 books, which Glendale officials value at about
$500,000, will quadruple the library’s collection of 4,000
Armenian-language materials. Because of the size of the donation,
Glendale is expected to share the books with neighboring libraries.
“Forty percent of the population of Glendale is Armenian,” said Cindy
Cleary, assistant director of libraries. “We have 660,000 books in
our collection and only 4,000 are Armenian language. It’s an
incredible resource, not only to Glendale but to the surrounding
neighborhoods.”
For some of the city’s large Armenian American population, especially
the elderly who did not grow up in the United States, having more
Armenian-language books will be welcomed.
“Much of the elderly, they may know how to speak English and read a
few things, but their native tongue is Armenian,” said Armen
Carapetian, government relations director of the Armenian National
Committee’s western region. “The books will come in particular use by
that segment of the community. It’s a tremendous gift.”
The library expects to receive the books next week, but Cleary said
it will be six months before any of them are incorporated into the
library’s collection. The city is expected to give some of the books
to other area libraries, including public libraries in Pasadena and
Burbank and Cal State Northridge’s library.
“From the beginning, it was clear that no one institution could take
the entire collection, just because of the size of the collection,”
said Beth Walker, principal librarian for the Pasadena Public
Library. “We don’t know if it’s the largest, but certainly a
significant one outside of Armenia.”
The collection of books is primarily eastern Armenian, and includes
history and literature from 1980 to 1992, including translations of
classics and books on the Armenian Genocide.
“There’s a lot of Armenian literature that is in demand and is not
available in the bookstores or other libraries around,” Councilman
Rafi Manoukian said. “A collection of that magnitude certainly will
go a long way in meeting that need.”
For the past 12 years, since the college closed its doors to students
in 1992, the collection has remained in La Verne but viewed by
appointment only. Last year, the college’s board members approached
the Pasadena Public Library about a donation. They also had
discussions with the University of Michigan library, which has an
Armenian Research Center at its Dearborn campus.
“The reason we picked Glendale, the whole board agreed to it, it’s a
real hub of a lot of Armenians,” said Jack Jandegian, a member of the
college’s board of directors. “With the supplement of all these books
with what you’ve already got there, it’s going to be a real big asset
for the city of Glendale.”
The college is also donating $25,000 for moving and processing the
collection. The City Council unanimously approved the donation on
Tuesday.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress