PRESS RELEASE
November 30, 2004

American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576

Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: gohar@auac.net

AUA PAPAZIAN LIBRARY ESTABLISHES INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION
SYSTEMS (IFES) CORNER

Yerevan – On Monday, November 29, 2004, the American University of Armenia
Papazian Library (AUAPL) held official opening ceremonies of the
International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) Corner. IFES’s Armenia
branch donated various library materials and furniture to the Papazian
Library to establish the IFES Corner, which includes 2,720 print, video and
electronic, international and local material in English, Armenian and
Russian.

The IFES collection is displayed in the AUA Papazian Library main reading
room and provides information on human rights, elections, gender issues,
mass media, democracy, civic education, corruption, and similar topics.
IFES-Armenia implemented a 4-year democracy and social reform project to
empower the citizens of Armenia. The project, funded by the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), encouraged a more informed and
active civil society by building the grass root capacity of communities to
communicate with their elected representatives.

AUA members along with library officials from Armenia’s National Library,
National Academy of Sciences Fundamental Library, the Parliamentary Library,
and representatives from international and US agencies, expressed their
appreciation for IFES-Armenia’s generous contribution of its collection to
AUA. Satenik Avagian, AUA Papazian Library Director, stated, `The
IFES-Armenia collection will significantly contribute to the intellectual
enrichment of our readers. AUA’s Papazian Library serves not only the AUA
community, but also the general population of Armenia, and we are happy to
provide public access to this valuable collection of information.’

AUA’s Papazian Library is a member of the Armenian Library Association and
participates in interlibrary lending with libraries throughout Armenia. It
benefits from a formal agreement with the Florida Atlantic University, which
allows AUA access to FAU Libraries holdings. The AUA Papazian Library
continues to serve as a model library for Armenia and the region, utilizing
advances in information technologies and collaborating with partners to
share resources and information.

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The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit educational
organization in both Armenia and the United States and is affiliated with
the Regents of the University of California. Receiving major support from
the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to the Masters Degree in eight
graduate programs. For more information about AUA, visit