US Library of Congress Area Specialist Dr. Levon Avdoyan Speaks at AUA

Yerevan - On Tuesday, May 11, 2004, Dr. Levon Avdoyan, an Armenian and Georgian Area Specialist of the United States Library of Congress' African and Middle Eastern Division, visited AUA and discussed the Near East Section of the Library of Congress and the Armenian portal within their website.

Avdoyan described the Library's rich depository of materials in over 40 languages about the area known as the Near East, including the countries and peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The Armenian portal has a comprehensive collection of materials published in the Republic and the Diaspora, including manuscripts, books, serials, newspapers, electronic media, motion pictures, music, etc. and encompasses subjects related to Armenian life and culture. Avdoyan noted that while there is much material on the Armenian Genocide, the portal does not use the term Genocide. He expressed hope that with Armenian-American lobbyist efforts that will soon change.

AUA Papazian Library staff and other library representatives participated in the lively exchange. This includes representatives from Armenia's National Library, Gladzor University Library, National Assembly Library, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Library, Yerevan City Central Library, National Academy of Sciences Fundamental Library, US Embassy's Information Resource Center, and students from the Yerevan State University's Library Department.

Satenik Avagian, the AUA Papazian Library Director, thanked Dr. Avdoyan for his informative presentation. The AUA Papazian Library is a major participant in the region's development of Library Sciences, providing innovative services and utilizing technological advances in the field. It is currently the only fully automated library in the region and has an open access policy for most of its collection, serving students and scholars from other institutions and the community at large. AUA also developed the Alice Ohanasian Digital Library of Classical Armenian Literature, which makes original works from the 5th - 18th centuries available online.