AUA and Central Bank Inaugurate State-of-the-Art Library at Dilijan’s Knowledge Development Center

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DILIJAN–The American University of Armenia (AUA) and the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) inaugurated a new state-of-the-art Library at the Knowledge for Development Center (KDC) in Dilijan with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, January 26.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Central Bank Chairman Arthur Javadyan, AUA President Bruce Boghosian, AUA Vice President of Operations Ashot Ghazaryan and AGBU Papazian Library Director Bella Avagyan.

The KDC is a collaboration between AUA and the Central Bank of Armenia. The four-story building is home to the CBA museum, the KDC Library, the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, and the AUA Extension.

“In working with the Central Bank, the Papazian Library at AUA contributed its own resources in establishing a technologically advanced environment for the new facility, as well as providing vital training and expertise to the KDC Library’s new staff,” says Avagyan. “The KDC library will become a vital resource for the 200,000 inhabitants of Tavush region, providing the local population with modern library services and facilities.”

The new center provides modern library services to its patrons, including children, teenagers, and adults, as well as students and professionals. Meanwhile, it’s Library is connected to the internet and has a wide and well-maintained collection of materials in a variety of formats, including books, audiobooks, DVDs, and a vast collection of eBooks. Most of these materials are in Armenian, Russian and English.

The Papazian Library provided KDC Library staff with five weeks of comprehensive full-day training sessions focusing on library resource and information management. Additionally, the Library is developing relevant and inspiring collections to address the community’s needs, as well as implementing improvements for a user-friendly Online Public Access Catalog.

The Library also contains a beautiful Storytelling Room, which will host theater performances for children, with the intention of developing literacy skills and a love for reading at an early age. The room is also equipped for video conferencing.

The KDC Library has also been equipped with the open source “Koha” integrated library system, which is being used as a library management system to catalog and circulate materials. Both the Cataloging and Circulation modules have been modified and translated into Armenian by AUA’s Information and Communication Technologies Services (ICTS) staff.

Beginning in April, AUA Extension, located on the KDC building’s fourth floor, will open registration for courses in Tourism and Hospitality Management. Theories, examples and industry case studies will be used to provide students with examples of problem solving tools in tourism and hospitality management.

These courses will cover a range of topics related to the hospitality industry, including Food and Beverage Management, Housekeeping and Cleaning Operations, Destination and Resort Marketing, B&B, Restaurant, and Hotel Management, Sales and Service Management, and Food Safety Management.  Additionally, a course in Business Entrepreneurship will complete the menu of courses available in the next four months.

The American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia.  Founded in 1991, AUA is affiliated with the University of California.  Through teaching, research, and public service, AUA serves Armenia and the region by supplying high-quality, graduate and undergraduate education, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting democratic values.

The AUA is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 985 Atlantic Avenue, #100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510-748-9001.