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LIBRARIES OF THE GLOBAL VILLAGE: DIASPORA RESOURCES IN GLENDALE, JERUSALEM, YEREVAN
BY ELISE KALFAYAN
asbarez
Friday, June 1st, 2012
The global village created by the world wide web gives the Armenian
Diaspora great opportunities to connect, but it also poses challenges
to identity. May's Facebook IPO in some ways reflects the village's
condition today - its financial prospects are questionable and its
loyalties indefinable. In contrast, libraries throughout the world
are rich in cultural resources and committed to serving the public.
Library professionals like Sylva Natalie Manoogian use electronic
tools, but understand that the core mission of libraries extends far
beyond digital information.
All that said, I found Sylva Manoogian through Facebook! I knew she
had established an Armenian collection at the Los Angeles Public
Library. After "retirement," she was a consultant to the Glendale
Public Library, helping to create a genocide resource collection
there. She is a founding and lifetime member of the Armenian Library
Association and an advocate for Armenian libraries wherever they
may be.
In a Facebook message to her, I asked about donating a crumbling 1908
Armenian dictionary to a research library. She replied that UCLA
already had a copy, in storage, and digitized. We later connected
in person, and I learned she was pursuing a doctorate at UCLA. In
June 2012, she will be defending her dissertation, "The Calouste
Gulbenkian Library, Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, 1925-1990:
A Socio-Cultural History of a Monastic Intellectual Resource Center
for the Armenian Diaspora."
Libraries are an indispensible resource for the global community and
its Armenians wherever they are; Manoogian's entire career demonstrates
that conviction. She says, "My doctoral work is giving me a unique
opportunity to pay tribute to our great visionary religious, literary,
and community leaders, in whose life literacy and continuing education
have played a significant role."
Manoogian has researched the full story of the personal devotion,
Armenian church connections and philanthropy contacts which built
that library in Jerusalem. It has since been a key resource for many
distinguished scholars and theologians. Several years ago I published
reviews of two books by noted early church historian Abraham Terian.
When I mentioned Terian, Manoogian of course knew that he had spent
considerable time at the Jerusalem library and in fact had a dedicated
space there.
Others who have used the library are Robert Thompson (Calouste
Gulbenkian Armenian Studies Scholar at Oxford), Bedros Der Matossian
of the University of Nebraska, and Michael Stone, Director Emeritus
of the Armenian Studies Program at Hebrew University.
Manoogian has reviewed the library's visitors log [Vosgemadian,
"Golden Book"], which reflects the influence of political events over
the decades and the global importance of its collections. She has
made 23 trips to Jerusalem since 1992 on her mission to revitalize
and internationalize the library as an important resource center for
the Armenian world.
Manoogian is celebrating much more than completion of her doctoral
degree this year. She was instrumental in encouraging colleagues to
write the proposal nominating Yerevan as the 2012 UNESCO World Book
Capital. This undertaking required significant government support,
and a year-long commitment which began on the eve of this year's
genocide commemoration, April 23, and extends to April 22 of 2013. It
also coincides with the 500th Anniversary of the Armenian Printed Book
(1512-2012).
Manoogian and I discussed all this and much more on the steps of the
Glendale Central Library. She is working a book project to commemorate
the work of her human rights activist father Shahan Natalie. She
attended the May 19 AIWA/Los Angeles symposium on the evolving role
of media and told me the guest speaker, journalist Silva Sevlian,
had several insights on how globalization and public diplomacy
are affecting the Armenian Diaspora (a theme of her own on-going
research). The Glendale Public Library itself had just hosted a May
19 day-long ARPA conference on current issues facing Armenia and
the Diaspora.
Although she understands the value of digitization for preservation
purposes, and for offering resources to the far reaches of the
Diaspora, Manoogian also strongly values the physical aspect of books
and other printed information available in libraries. On the cusp of
big changes at UCLA, she was offered the choice of her doctoral title.
Whereas now UCLA enrolls doctoral candidates in "Information Sciences"
she asked that her degree be awarded in "Library and Information
Sciences."
Libraries are where cultural resources are primarily preserved,
studied, and available to all. "Digital and economic trends indeed
seem to dominate the global library scene these days, but libraries
and librarians as we know them still have critical roles to play,"
emphasizes Manoogian. Her continuing mission with Armenian libraries
here and abroad is to get involved with programming for youth that
educates, enlightens, informs, and makes them proud of their culture
and heritage.
As for Facebook, the IPO, and the many other electronic businesses
compiling social and even educational resources: these have been
established primarily for profit, not cultural enrichment. Their tools
have made it easier for people like me and Sylva Manoogian to connect,
but they are no substitute for the enduring public trust embodied in
the mission of libraries from Glendale to Jerusalem to Yerevan.
Elise Kalfayan is a Glendale resident, a native Southern Californian,
and a combined first/second generation Armenian-American. She has
produced or edited print and online pieces on topics ranging from
urban development to Armenian Church history. She is the publisher
of a Glendale community news blog, and works as a contract writer,
editor, and publishing consultant for clients including businesses,
entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and memoirists.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
BY ELISE KALFAYAN
asbarez
Friday, June 1st, 2012
The global village created by the world wide web gives the Armenian
Diaspora great opportunities to connect, but it also poses challenges
to identity. May's Facebook IPO in some ways reflects the village's
condition today - its financial prospects are questionable and its
loyalties indefinable. In contrast, libraries throughout the world
are rich in cultural resources and committed to serving the public.
Library professionals like Sylva Natalie Manoogian use electronic
tools, but understand that the core mission of libraries extends far
beyond digital information.
All that said, I found Sylva Manoogian through Facebook! I knew she
had established an Armenian collection at the Los Angeles Public
Library. After "retirement," she was a consultant to the Glendale
Public Library, helping to create a genocide resource collection
there. She is a founding and lifetime member of the Armenian Library
Association and an advocate for Armenian libraries wherever they
may be.
In a Facebook message to her, I asked about donating a crumbling 1908
Armenian dictionary to a research library. She replied that UCLA
already had a copy, in storage, and digitized. We later connected
in person, and I learned she was pursuing a doctorate at UCLA. In
June 2012, she will be defending her dissertation, "The Calouste
Gulbenkian Library, Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, 1925-1990:
A Socio-Cultural History of a Monastic Intellectual Resource Center
for the Armenian Diaspora."
Libraries are an indispensible resource for the global community and
its Armenians wherever they are; Manoogian's entire career demonstrates
that conviction. She says, "My doctoral work is giving me a unique
opportunity to pay tribute to our great visionary religious, literary,
and community leaders, in whose life literacy and continuing education
have played a significant role."
Manoogian has researched the full story of the personal devotion,
Armenian church connections and philanthropy contacts which built
that library in Jerusalem. It has since been a key resource for many
distinguished scholars and theologians. Several years ago I published
reviews of two books by noted early church historian Abraham Terian.
When I mentioned Terian, Manoogian of course knew that he had spent
considerable time at the Jerusalem library and in fact had a dedicated
space there.
Others who have used the library are Robert Thompson (Calouste
Gulbenkian Armenian Studies Scholar at Oxford), Bedros Der Matossian
of the University of Nebraska, and Michael Stone, Director Emeritus
of the Armenian Studies Program at Hebrew University.
Manoogian has reviewed the library's visitors log [Vosgemadian,
"Golden Book"], which reflects the influence of political events over
the decades and the global importance of its collections. She has
made 23 trips to Jerusalem since 1992 on her mission to revitalize
and internationalize the library as an important resource center for
the Armenian world.
Manoogian is celebrating much more than completion of her doctoral
degree this year. She was instrumental in encouraging colleagues to
write the proposal nominating Yerevan as the 2012 UNESCO World Book
Capital. This undertaking required significant government support,
and a year-long commitment which began on the eve of this year's
genocide commemoration, April 23, and extends to April 22 of 2013. It
also coincides with the 500th Anniversary of the Armenian Printed Book
(1512-2012).
Manoogian and I discussed all this and much more on the steps of the
Glendale Central Library. She is working a book project to commemorate
the work of her human rights activist father Shahan Natalie. She
attended the May 19 AIWA/Los Angeles symposium on the evolving role
of media and told me the guest speaker, journalist Silva Sevlian,
had several insights on how globalization and public diplomacy
are affecting the Armenian Diaspora (a theme of her own on-going
research). The Glendale Public Library itself had just hosted a May
19 day-long ARPA conference on current issues facing Armenia and
the Diaspora.
Although she understands the value of digitization for preservation
purposes, and for offering resources to the far reaches of the
Diaspora, Manoogian also strongly values the physical aspect of books
and other printed information available in libraries. On the cusp of
big changes at UCLA, she was offered the choice of her doctoral title.
Whereas now UCLA enrolls doctoral candidates in "Information Sciences"
she asked that her degree be awarded in "Library and Information
Sciences."
Libraries are where cultural resources are primarily preserved,
studied, and available to all. "Digital and economic trends indeed
seem to dominate the global library scene these days, but libraries
and librarians as we know them still have critical roles to play,"
emphasizes Manoogian. Her continuing mission with Armenian libraries
here and abroad is to get involved with programming for youth that
educates, enlightens, informs, and makes them proud of their culture
and heritage.
As for Facebook, the IPO, and the many other electronic businesses
compiling social and even educational resources: these have been
established primarily for profit, not cultural enrichment. Their tools
have made it easier for people like me and Sylva Manoogian to connect,
but they are no substitute for the enduring public trust embodied in
the mission of libraries from Glendale to Jerusalem to Yerevan.
Elise Kalfayan is a Glendale resident, a native Southern Californian,
and a combined first/second generation Armenian-American. She has
produced or edited print and online pieces on topics ranging from
urban development to Armenian Church history. She is the publisher
of a Glendale community news blog, and works as a contract writer,
editor, and publishing consultant for clients including businesses,
entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and memoirists.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress