Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) Library and Documentation/Research Collections

History and Founding

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) is a non-profit organisation and institution of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, located at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex in Yerevan. The museum building was opened in 1995 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, designed by architects Sashur Kalashian, Lyudmila Mkrtchyan, and sculptor F. Araqelyan. The museum complex is adjacent to the Genocide Monument completed in 1967. Within the museum's first-floor facilities — which are built into the hillside — there are a library, a reading hall, and storage rooms for museum artifacts and scientific objects. The institution carries out academic research into the genocide and publishes the International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies.

Library and Documentation Collections

The AGMI library and documentation collections are primarily enriched through personal donations. Materials are held in Armenian, Russian, Turkish, English, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, and French. The collections include textual documents, photographs, maps, survivor testimonies, newspaper clippings, and rare published works relating to the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the broader period of Ottoman-era persecution. The reading hall and library are accessible to scholars and students conducting research on the genocide. The AGMI has partnered with the USC Shoah Foundation to gain access to digitised Armenian Genocide survivor testimonies, including over 450 audio and video testimonies from the Visual History Archive.

Relevance to Journalism and Media History

The AGMI's collections include press materials and international newspaper coverage of the genocide from 1915 and the interwar period. These constitute primary sources for historians of genocide journalism and the international media response to mass atrocities. The AGMI actively uses digital platforms and online exhibitions to disseminate its collections globally, and has been a partner to multiple international institutions in developing educational and media-based content about the genocide.

Access and Usage

The museum is open to the public and offers guided tours in Armenian, Russian, English, French, and German. The library and reading hall are available to researchers. The AGMI website provides 23 online exhibitions, including 3D virtual tours of the physical museum. The institution has signed memoranda of understanding with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the USC Shoah Foundation, among others.