Washington, DC - Davit Sargsyan, Director of the National Library of Armenia visited the office of the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA) on his recent tour of the United States. He was in Washington at the invitation of the Library of Congress. Sargsyan congratulated AGMA and the Armenian National Institute (ANI) on the opening of the new research library, and stressed the importance of creating specialized collections, particularly one focused on the Armenian Genocide. With the quincentennial of Armenian-language publishing slated for 2012, Mr. Sargsyan shared his appreciation of the emphasis provided by the AGMA exhibits on the cultural values of the Armenian people and the tragedy of the immense loss of the Armenian heritage during the Genocide. "I want to thank the Director of the National Library of Armenia for his expressions of support," stated AGMA Director Dr. Rouben Adalian. "We welcome his encouragement." Sargsyan also thanked AGMA for the privilege of viewing the Ambassador Morgenthau collection and discussed its potential value as work continues on developing the museum exhibits. Sargsyan was also present for the unveiling of a new special collections section created to house a set of holdings recently delivered to ANI, including the Smith and Parker collections. Dr. Roger Smith, professor emeritus of government at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, a pioneer in the field of genocide studies, donated his books and journals covering the range of scholarship on genocide and human rights. The collection reflects Dr. Smith's lifelong career as an educator as well as his professional contributions as a co-founder and past president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS). In June 2010, ANI also welcomed the generous donation of a collection on all aspects of the Holocaust by Dr. Rolland Parker, a noted New York neuropsychologist and his wife Irmgard Bohrn, retired from the United Nations. A distinguished scientist, teacher at NYU Medical School, author of eight reference volumes on neuropsychology, President of the NY Academy of Traumatic Brain Injury, and a scholar on many topics, including the dynamics of war-time Germany, Dr. Parker amassed his personal collection over a period of 20 years. The donation was facilitated by Fordham University professor and Armenian Assembly of America representative at the United Nations, Dr. Harold Takooshian, a close friend of Dr. Parker. "In both the Jewish and Armenian genocides, a major nation's despotic leaders tried to use the turbulence of war to conceal their attempt to eradicate a prosperous and loyal religious minority within their borders," explained Dr. Takooshian. "Even today, an organized cadre of well-funded genocide-deniers continues to try to re-write the historic record of the Jewish and Armenian genocides, even as these two ancient peoples are now full members of the United Nations, struggling against adversaries to safeguard their own post-genocide homelands." 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. Armenian Genocide Museum of America 1334 G Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005 www.ArmenianGenocideMuseum.org

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