AGMA gifted exceptional collection of Genocide documentation

PanARMENIAN.Net - 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, AGMA told PanARMENIAN.Net



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'etre 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.