ANI Library opened in Armenian Genocide Museum of America

PanARMENIAN.Net - "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.