HRACHYA TAMRAZIAN: CONSTRUCTION OF MATENADARAN’S SCIENTIFIC ANNEX IS A NECESSITY

Noyan Tapan
Dec 13, 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The construction of Matenadaran’s
scientific annex is a necessity today, especially as the number
of its employees has a tendency of growing. As Hrachya Tamrazian,
the Director of Matenadaran, said in his interview to Noyan Tapan
correspondent, all scientific departments of Matenadaran need new
specialists, new departments should be also created, but the building
conditions are not sufficient. In case of building a new scientific
annex the scientific department will be placed there, and exhibitions
will be organized in the current main building.

According to H. Tamrazian, the institution has a restoration department
with modern equipment, where incunabular and rare manuscripts, books
and press kept not only in Matenadaran, but also in other institutions
are restored.

This department also needs to be "multiplied," as it takes more than
two years to restore one manuscript.

H. Tamrazian also said that 90 manuscripts have been already videoed
by the device donated by Lebanese Armenian architect Perch Guyumjian,
as a result of the digitalization work being done in Matenadaran at
present. "There is no time to test the device, we at once started
videoing the manuscripts," the Director said.

As regards the deal with the American Hill Museum-Library
of Manuscripts, H. Tamrazian excluded that Matenadaran will ever
cooperate with any organization of the kind on such terms: "this is
inadmissible and dangerous." "Cooperation with foreign organizations
should be carried out by the principle of not giving them copies. We
are ready to cooperate with other foreign organizations, including
the Austrian Graz University," he emphasized.

The Director said that the Austrians have already worked with such
devices, have experience and tested devices, which have passed
expertise. They will give the devices without preconditions. "And
for them, it is beneficial to cooperate with such a large museum of
manuscripts as Matenadaran."

According to H. Tamrazian, the videoing work of manuscripts is
the first stage of the digitalization program, that stage is being
fulfilled through donations. The funds for the next stage will be
allocated by the government, for manuscripts subject to restoration,
which need to be restored and rehabilitated before videoing.