PRESS RELEASE
AGMM
April 22, 2010
Contact: Press office
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 383-9009
AGMA Opens ANI Research Library
Henry Morgenthau III Presides at Dedication
Washington, DC – To coincide with the 95th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, the Armenian National Institute (ANI) opened its research
library in the presence of friends and supporters today. Part of the
Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), the ANI Research Library
is one of the critical pieces of the museum project.
"The ANI Library is the first component of the museum project to be
open, initially for scholarly use," announced Van Z. Krikorian, museum
trustee and chairman of the museum’s building and operations
committee. Krikorian went on to explain: "Creating the library
constitutes part of our overall development plan. Next steps include
opening the museum in the historic bank building, converting the
adjacent lots into a memorial garden and renovating the end piece
office building of the museum properties at 1334 G Street which will
be available for future expansion."
Henry Morgenthau III did the honor of formally opening the ANI
Library. "My grandfather, our entire family, has always emphasized the
importance of public service," Morgenthau said in his remarks. "I am
so very pleased that Ambassador Morgenthau’s legacy will continue to
be preserved and appreciated in your institute and your museum located
in Washington. President Woodrow Wilson asked my grandfather to serve
at an important diplomatic post. I remain proud of his decision to
speak forcefully about the cruel fate of the Armenian people in the
Ottoman Empire as they suffered the first genocide of the 20th
century. He set out for Constantinople to be an envoy and returned a
champion of human dignity and governmental responsibility. I hope he
will continue to serve as a model for future generations in government
service."
ANI Director Dr. Rouben Adalian noted: "With its multiple collections,
the ANI Library was especially enriched by the generous gift of
Ambassador Morgenthau’s personal collection of books by his
grandson. We are particularly honored by Mr. Morgenthau’s support and
his commitment to sharing the humanitarian legacy of his
grandfather. Ambassador Morgenthau rendered his country exceptional
diplomatic service, and personally advocated for the respect of human
rights and the rule of law. That made all the difference in mobilizing
U.S. relief efforts and in saving Armenian lives."
"We take this occasion to thank Hirair Hovnanian for founding the
Armenian National Institute and Aram Kaloosdian for guiding it as we
proceed with the plans toward Anoush Mathevosian’s vision of a museum
in Washington to honor the memory of the victims and the survivors of
the Armenian Genocide," added Adalian. "Ms. Mathevosian was recently
honored for her outstanding philanthropic activities by the
Mid-Atlantic Knights and Daughters of Vartan with their "Lifetime
Humanitarian Benefactor Award," by the Republic of Armenia’s Ministry
of Science and Education "Golden Medal" presented to her in person by
Armenia’s ambassador to the United Nations Mr. Garen Nazarian, and
bestowed "St Gregory the Illuminator" award, the highest honor awarded
by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzinpresented to her by Archbishop
Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America.Without Hirair and Anoush we would not be here
today."
Armenia’s ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Tatoul
Markarian, accompanied Morgenthau at the ribbon cutting ceremony. He
was joined by Varduhi Asaturian, Minister Counselor of the Armenian
Embassy, Robert Avetisyan, Permanent Representative of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, his deputy Aram Avetisyan, as well as Bryan
Ardouny, Executive Director of the Armenian Assembly of America, and
other guests.
Joining the library dedication was also Mr. Marc Mamigonian, Director
of Academic Affairs of the National Association for Armenian Studies
and Research (NAASR). Located in Belmont, Massachusetts, NAASR is the
oldest U.S.-based organization supporting academic research on
Armenian subjects. NAASR recently co-sponsored, along with the Clark
University Kaloosdian-Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies and the
University of Minnesota Ohanessian Chair, the April 9-10 workshop on
"The State of the Art of Armenian Genocide Research: Historiography,
Sources, and Future Directions," convened at Clark University by
Dr. Taner Akcam and Dr. Stephen Weitz. NAASR also supported the March
13 conference convened at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) by Dr. Bedross Der Matossian and Dr. Christopher Capozzola. ANI
Director Rouben Adalian was invited to address both conferences.
"The ANI Research Library is continuously expanding with special and
general purpose collections on the Armenian Genocide and the broader
problem of genocide. We expect to rapidly grow the scope of its
holdings from our initial collection of 8,000 volumes and soon expand
across the three floors of the AGMA office building dedicated to
housing our museum planning facilities." continued Krikorian. Besides
relevant items donated from private collections, the Library includes
publications received from a number of centers from around the world
specializing in the study of genocide, including the Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute in Yerevan. Krikorian went on to say: "We understand
that the Armenian community wants the museum to open as soon as
possible and we expect to overcome the challenges facing the project,
but we are happy that the development of the project continues to be
implemented a step at a time."
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.
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