The Edward and Helen Mardigian Reference and Research Library at NAASR is composed of more than 20,000 books, pamphlets, periodicals, and documents, primarily in Armenian and English, dating as far back as the late eighteenth century. The collection encompasses a broad range of topics including history, literature, art and architecture, linguistics, as well as law, anthropology, health, nutrition, and sports.

Two circumstances led to the establishment of a library at NAASR. The first was the donation of books on Armenian subjects by NAASR members and their families; the second was the increasing number of requests to NAASR by students, the media, and individuals for information on Armenian topics. The library has become a center for scholars, undergraduates, high school students, and the general public, who have benefited from NAASR’s unique holdings.

Through the years, numerous important and valuable collections have been donated or willed to NAASR and form the heart of the Armenian language collection, and NAASR continues to accept donations.  The largest of these collections is the Ani and George Bournoutian Collection of more than 3,000 titles.

The library also contains several important collections of personal papers, including those of the late Avedis Derounian (aka John Roy Carlson), the Rev. Charles Vertanes, Emmanuel Varandyan, Haigazn Kazarian, and others, which represent a substantial source of information for future researchers.

Highlights of the library include a large number of histories of now-destroyed Armenian villages and towns, Armenian dictionaries of many different types, a copy of virtually every title published in English over the past half century, and an enormous trove of newspapers and periodicals, including scholarly journals.

Library Catalogue

NAASR's fully searchable catalogue can be accessed by clicking here:  NAASR Library Catalogue.

A separate listing of NAASR's periodical holdings is also available.