The Calouste Gulbenkian Library of the Armenian

Patriarchate of Jerusalem strives to collect, preserve, and

make rapidly and easily accessible a vast array of ideas and

information for the education, enrichment, and

empowerment of its religious and lay community, as well

as for the enlightenment of scholars and researchers in

the region and throughout the world.Tn the world is

received on a subscription basis.

A separate room houses rare and early imprints, published a hundred or more years ago. Armenians established the first printing press in Jerusalem in 1833. One of the Library's prized possessions is a copy of the inaugural issue of the Patriarchate's monthly of religion, literature and philology, the official publication of the Armenian Patriarchate. Most book acquisitions are gifts, a listing of which is regularly published in the Sion gazette. A wide range of subjects is represented, with emphasis on Christianity in all its aspects. The collections are classified according to the Dewey Decimal System. Bibliographic records are maintained in a card catalog. The Patriarchate also curates an extraordinary collection of 4000 illuminated manuscripts, housed in the Church of St. Toros, close to the Cathedral of St. James. Plans for the Future Plans are underway to renovate the historic Gulbenkian Library, transforming it into a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled facility which accommodates furnishings congruous with the character of the building and is equipped with electrical and communications systems capable of incorporating automation, electronic networking, and future technological developments. The Library will be harmonious with the historic setting and environment of the Armenian Patriarchate, which also comprises the Convent and Cathedral of St. James; the Theological Seminary of the Brotherhood of St. James; the Holy Translators (Surb Tarkmanchats) School (kindergarten through high school); the Edward and Helen Mardigian Museum of Armenian Art and Culture; and the St. James Printing Press. Support In early 1997, a support organization, The Friends of the Calouste Gulbenkian Library, was formed and has been incorporated in California as a tax-exempt [501(c)3], a non-profit charitable public benefit corporation with the following purposes: • To advance and promote in the Armenian and American communities the cultural and historical significance of the Calouste Gulbenkian Library; to enhance its collection development activities; to expand its programs and services which provide greater public access to information in the Armenian language and about Armenians from earliest times to the present to Armenological scholars and members of all Armenian communities in the United States and throughout the world;  • To organize and engage in activities which educate, enrich, and foster understanding and appreciation of the great cultural treasure in said Library among members of the organization and persons of Armenian ancestry in the United States of America and abroad;  • To solicit donations, grants or subsidies from interested members of the public and to apply to public agencies or private or public foundations for assistance under prescribed guidelines, rules and regulations promulgated by such agencies or foundations in order to fund selected capital improvements to the Library.  [Ed: Courtesy the Armenian Patriarchate of St James]

over 100,000 volumes