Cummings Foundation Grant Recipient

Mardigian Library

Pre-1915 photo of Varakavank, from the NAASR Mardigian Library

Pre-1915 photo of Varakavank, from the NAASR Mardigian Library

Library Catalogue

The Mardigian Library's catalogue of over 31,000 books, pamphlets, and maps is fully searchable, by clicking here:  NAASR Library Catalogue. NAASR follows Library of Congress transliteration rules for Armenian, Russian, Persian, and other languages. We suggest omitting diacritical marks when searching

A separate listing of NAASR's periodical holdings is available here. (Note that some periodicals are also included in the Library Catalogue.)  As our periodicals collection is constantly growing, if you do not see a specific issue listed, we suggest contacting us at hq@naasr.org.

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity and vision of the SJS Charitable Trust, NAASR has digitized more than 100 of its rarest “taregirks” or yearbooks dating back to the 1890s, which can now be read online by clicking on the link in the catalogue entry for each volume.  For a full list of these digitized titles, click here.

About the Mardigian Library

The Edward and Helen Mardigian Library at NAASR consists of over 31,000 books, pamphlets, periodicals, and documents, primarily in Armenian and English, dating as far back as the 1600's. The collection encompasses a broad range of topics including history, literature, art, architecture, linguistics, poetry, as well as law, anthropology, cooking, and natural sciences. The library is named in honor of the late Edward and Helen Mardigian in recognition of their decades of generous support of NAASR and its initiatives and the continued support of the Mardigian family.

The library draws scholars, undergraduates, high school students, researchers, and the general public from around the world, interested in NAASR’s unique holdings.

“The collections at NAASR are extremely important in studying the Armenian Genocide. I hope to come back here very often.”

- Ugur Ungor

Through the years, numerous significant and valuable collections have been donated to NAASR, and NAASR continues to accept donations.  The largest of these is the Ani and George Bournoutian Collection of more than 3,000 titles. Other major collections donated to NAASR include those of Hagop Atamian, Dickran Boyajian, Dr. John A. C. Greppin, George Kolligian, Harry Kolligian, Alice Odian Kasparian, Abraham Krikorian & Eugene Taylor, Samuel Toumayan, and Manoog S. Young.

“NAASR has never failed to help me when I’ve needed sources, books—any information, practical or impractical.”

- Kevork Bardakjian

The library also contains several collections of rare personal papers of great interest, including those of the late Avedis Derounian (aka John Roy Carlson), Fr. Krikor Guerguerian, the Rev. Charles Vertanes, Emmanuel P. Varandyan, Haigazn Kazarian, Marderos Deranian, Dicran Simsarian, and others, which represent a substantial source of information for future researchers.

Highlights of the library also include histories of now-destroyed Armenian villages and towns, Armenian dictionaries of many different types, virtually every title published in English over the past half century, and thousands of newspapers and periodicals, including scholarly journals.


Online catalogues of other Boston-area Armenian libraries with important holdings of interest to researchers:

The Mesrob G. Boyadjian Library at the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown, MA

The Eghia Demirjibashian Library at the Armenian Cultural Foundation in Arlington, MA