OPEN DOORS FOR THE FAMILY

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 22 2006

People and civilizations are lost in time when information regarding
them is not recorded and preserved. The same relates to families,
as families are an essential part of society and culture.

On November 18, 06 the Family History Center held its open house. It
was founded in 2002 in Armenia by the Genealogical Society of Utah,
which has resources and experts worldwide. The Society is headquartered
in Utah, USA and is known as the world’s largest genealogical and
family history library in the world with its immense database. Over
one billion names in searchable databases, two and a half million
microfilms, more that 800,000 microfiches, and about 300,000 unique
and rare genealogical books and literature – such is the library
collection today.

The purpose of the Open House was to inform the public of this
facility’s existence and of the various services it offers. The
Center provides a great opportunity to those who are interested in
the research of their family history and in genealogy in general. It
provides such services as: creating pedigree charts, internet search
in the genealogical websites, training on working with microfilms,
consultations on research methods and data resources, education
seminars, etc.

Similar centers (about 4000) operate in 88 countries and are sponsored
by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Church
places strong emphasis on creation and conservation of families and
on preservation of family history records. Even though the centers
are usually located in the church buildings, they are open to and
serve people of all nations and religions worldwide.

There is also a website available for further
research. The website has over 50,000 visitors per day.

The Center in Yerevan has a collection of specialized books, records,
dictionaries for geographical names, reference books and microfilms,
which have been donated by the Armenian Genealogical Center in Utah,
USA. The collection contains records on Armenian emigrants and
refugees from 15 countries spread throughout the world after the
Armenian Genocide. The 15 countries are: USA, Australia, Albania,
Austria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Syria, India, Indonesia, Jordan,
Holland, Israel, Bangladesh, and Poland. Trained volunteers of the
Center assist attendees making their research more efficient.

The services of the Center are free to the public. It is located on
Vratsakan St. 5, Yerevan and is open every day including Sundays. For
verification of hours and for further information, please, call
25-32-06.