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REBUILDING THE LIBRARIES OF ARMENIA, ONE STEP AT A TIME
by Olivia Katrandjian
The Civilitas Foundation
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 12:00
Civil Society
When I was little, every Christmas I would get the same thing in my
stocking: a headlight so I could read in bed late into the night.
While everyone else was sleeping, I would stay up for hours, immersed
in books. By the time Christmas rolled around, I had used my night
light so much that I needed a new one. The local library became my
place to escape to - a home away from home for me that I shared with
so many others whose stories lived on the library's shelves.
Today, I visited two libraries that may house books, but are not
homes to anyone.
When I walked into Ararat Library, the librarian was sitting in
the corner of the dark room wrapped in a blanket. I realized why,
as a chill came over me - it was freezing inside. There was a quaint
charm to the place - natural light shone in through the window and
illuminated the dust on books that had been untouched for who knows
how long, as if the room was the ghost of a library past. There was
not a computer in sight. In fact, the library still used the old
index card system of cataloging.
The next library I visited had a tremendous number of books, but was
much like the first - there was no heat or electricity, the water
didn't work in the bathroom and the floor was coming apart. When the
library's director took me into his office, I noticed a massive leak
in one corner of the ceiling. The ceiling was water damaged and the
sheet rock was falling off. When I pointed it out to him, he said,
"Oh, that's nothing," and led me into one of the other rooms filled
with books. I looked up and noticed that an entire wall was completely
water damaged. "This past winter, this whole room flooded," he said.
"We had to move 72,000 books."
Ararat and Ashtarak libraries are among ten libraries outside of
Yerevan that the Civilitas Foundation is refurbishing with funds from
the US Embassy. The initiative is case-specific - Civilitas works with
each library to figure out what the library needs. Refurbishing can
include heating, a cataloging system, building renovations, window and
door replacement and book donations. In addition, Civilitas provides
each library with computers and a multifunctional printer/scanner/fax
machine.
The main objective of the project is to support and strengthen public
libraries in a number of rural and urban communities in Armenia in
order to transform them into centers of community life. But in order
to do that, the libraries need to be welcoming.
The Armavir Library is on its way to becoming just that. After
visiting Ararat and Ashtarak libraries, I was shocked when I walked
into the Armavir library. With help from the Civilitas Foundation,
the library has a shiny new tile floor, freshly painted walls and a
renovated computer room. A section was devoted to English books and
I spotted a few that I had read as a child. It was starting to look
like a place I could call home.
From: A. Papazian
by Olivia Katrandjian
The Civilitas Foundation
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 12:00
Civil Society
When I was little, every Christmas I would get the same thing in my
stocking: a headlight so I could read in bed late into the night.
While everyone else was sleeping, I would stay up for hours, immersed
in books. By the time Christmas rolled around, I had used my night
light so much that I needed a new one. The local library became my
place to escape to - a home away from home for me that I shared with
so many others whose stories lived on the library's shelves.
Today, I visited two libraries that may house books, but are not
homes to anyone.
When I walked into Ararat Library, the librarian was sitting in
the corner of the dark room wrapped in a blanket. I realized why,
as a chill came over me - it was freezing inside. There was a quaint
charm to the place - natural light shone in through the window and
illuminated the dust on books that had been untouched for who knows
how long, as if the room was the ghost of a library past. There was
not a computer in sight. In fact, the library still used the old
index card system of cataloging.
The next library I visited had a tremendous number of books, but was
much like the first - there was no heat or electricity, the water
didn't work in the bathroom and the floor was coming apart. When the
library's director took me into his office, I noticed a massive leak
in one corner of the ceiling. The ceiling was water damaged and the
sheet rock was falling off. When I pointed it out to him, he said,
"Oh, that's nothing," and led me into one of the other rooms filled
with books. I looked up and noticed that an entire wall was completely
water damaged. "This past winter, this whole room flooded," he said.
"We had to move 72,000 books."
Ararat and Ashtarak libraries are among ten libraries outside of
Yerevan that the Civilitas Foundation is refurbishing with funds from
the US Embassy. The initiative is case-specific - Civilitas works with
each library to figure out what the library needs. Refurbishing can
include heating, a cataloging system, building renovations, window and
door replacement and book donations. In addition, Civilitas provides
each library with computers and a multifunctional printer/scanner/fax
machine.
The main objective of the project is to support and strengthen public
libraries in a number of rural and urban communities in Armenia in
order to transform them into centers of community life. But in order
to do that, the libraries need to be welcoming.
The Armavir Library is on its way to becoming just that. After
visiting Ararat and Ashtarak libraries, I was shocked when I walked
into the Armavir library. With help from the Civilitas Foundation,
the library has a shiny new tile floor, freshly painted walls and a
renovated computer room. A section was devoted to English books and
I spotted a few that I had read as a child. It was starting to look
like a place I could call home.
From: A. Papazian