Armenian Genocide Museum of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-383-9009, Web:
PRESS RELEASE
October 8, 2008
CONTACT: Carole Karabashian
Phone: (202) 383-9009
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES MAJOR RESEARCH LIBRARY
DONATION
Washington, DC – Two donors, who presently wish to remain anonymous,
have gifted the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA) with an
exceptional collection of books and other printed material focused on
the Armenian Genocide and its documentation.
The collection of several thousand rare and out-of-print books and other
documents is slated for transfer to the AGMA in time for the opening of
the museum in 2010. AGMA will include a complete facility to support
ongoing research at the museum.
The remarkable collection contains many valuable items including maps,
photographs, and other historical evidence reflecting acquisitions,
research, and exploration across numerous archives.
In making their gift to AGMA, the two donors stated: "Indeed, the very
raison d’être of this collection is that everyone needs to know that
there is a massive amount of documentation on what happened to the
Armenians. At the same time, there is also ample testimony that they
were able to overcome the attempt to annihilate them and to recover from
such unprecedented adversity. And, all this with a great deal of help
from the U.S.A. What better place to show this than in Washington, DC?"
The donors hope that the gift will serve as an incentive for others to
contribute relevant works as well. Collection development is a major
objective of the AGMA library. Accepting the donation, AGMA Trustee and
Building and Operations Committee Chairman Van Krikorian, said: "We are
thrilled to receive this astounding gift of an entire library of
specialized publications concentrating on the Armenian Genocide. The
donors’ monumental achievement in creating this collection and
tremendous generosity in choosing the AGMA as the home for the
collection represent a true match made in heaven."
Krikorian went on to say: "This collection of works ranging in their
coverage from the mid-1800s to the present has personal meaning for a
variety of reasons. First, this specialized Armenian Genocide
collection is destined to constitute the foundation of the museum
library. Second, the donation of this entire pre-existing collection,
along with our own Assembly and ANI materials, and in light of the help
we are getting from the Near East Foundation and the Armenian Genocide
Museum in Yerevan, and others, immediately puts AGMA out front in
Washington for running the type of research center that we plan and need
to support the museum, its exhibits and activities. Our donors have
established a standard of sharing with this extraordinary donation in
the same community-minded spirit of Anoush Mathevosian, Hirair
Hovnanian, and the Kechejian family, which we hope others will emulate."
The library donors are scientists with advanced degrees, one with
Armenian roots and the other with no such roots but with a fervent
interest in human rights, peace, and social justice. The gift is being
made in memory of the parents of one of the scientists. They were from
the same small mountain village in the Kharpert region of Armenia. One
was a Genocide survivor; the other was a "gamavor" or volunteer from
America who served in the Armenian Legion or Legion d’Orient.
This special collection will significantly expand the holdings of the
Armenian National Institute (ANI), which has been serving as the
research facility of the AGMA. ANI is already the beneficiary of the
oral history project conducted by the Armenian Assembly of America in
the 1980s, which also sponsored in the 1990s, the first comprehensive
collection of 37,000 pages of U.S. documents from the National Archives
issued on microfiche with a 476-page guide to the documents, both
published by Chadwyck-Healey, Inc. Over the years, ANI has also
acquired important archival holdings from around the world.
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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