AGMA ANNOUNCES OPENING OF ANI RESEARCH LIBRARY
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.03.2010 13:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA)
announced in advance of the museum opening that the Armenian National
Institute (ANI) Research Library will be opened in time for the 95th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2010. ANI has been
part of the AGMA organization since 2003.
The support extended AGMA and ANI by donors has prompted plans to
create a research facility that may also be accessible to researchers
studying the Armenian Genocide. The special collections of books on the
topic of genocide in general and the Armenian Genocide in particular
that have been gifted to ANI already constitute a critical component
of the future museum. As a step toward encouraging further research on
the Armenian Genocide, AGMA has decided that the ANI Research Library
should be made available for public use by qualified specialists.
"The thousands of publications that form the core of the scholarly and
documentary record on the Armenian Genocide are a critical resource
that ANI has been collecting over the years," said Van Z. Krikorian,
museum trustee and chairman of the museum’s building and operations
committee. "The AGMA planning process has depended on the services
provided by ANI to develop the exhibit concepts and contents. While
we look ahead to the time when the entire museum facility is open
to the public, we wanted to take this initial step in encouraging
more learning and academic research on the Armenian Genocide as that
constitutes one of the core missions of AGMA."
"With ANI already located at the AGMA site, we will be expanding the
Institute’s research facility and incorporate the resources that have
been gathered and that continue to arrive," added Krikorian. "ANI
has collected documentation on the Armenian Genocide from around the
world. As these records are processed and organized, we expect that
more and more of the collected resources will be available for study
and research."
"With its rapidly growing library of 8,000 volumes, the base for
creating a comprehensive collection centered on the Armenian Genocide
has been created. With more donors prepared to share their specialized
collections, and planning for a capacity of 100,000 volumes, the
time had arrived to organize the ANI Research Library for use by
scholars and researchers seeking access to resources on the Armenian
experience," Krikorian said.
ANI was established in 1997 by a special grant to the Armenian Assembly
of America by the chairman of its board of trustees, Mr.
Hirair Hovnanian. The Institute is dedicated to the study, research,
and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. As part of its public
service, ANI maintains the most extensive website on the Armenian
Genocide available on the Internet at the following address:
Since its founding the Institute has been
under the direction of Dr. Rouben Adalian, who has also directed the
AGMA project since 2008.
The Armenian Genocide Museum of America is an outgrowth of the
Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Institute
(ANI), catalyzed by the initial pledge of Anoush Mathevosian toward
building such a museum in Washington, DC.