ANI LIBRARY OPENED IN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM OF AMERICA
PanARMENIAN.Net
April 23, 2010 – 20:55 AMT 15:55 GMT
"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 Etchmiadzin presented 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 Srbuhi Poghosian 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.