General Information
The ACHRC began its library activities in 1996.
The organization received small booklets on human rights from the Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. There arose a desire to make this literature accessible to the public so that everyone would have the opportunity to read them.
Thus, the idea of establishing a library was born.
With funding from the Armenian Human Rights and Development Center (AHD/NGO) and donations from several organizations, the Human Rights Library was opened in Vanadzor in 1996, starting with about 400 books.
The library grew rapidly, and by 2002, its collection had reached 10,000 books. The invaluable role of the Dutch organization CORDAID is worth mentioning here, as it supported the library’s re-equipment and development for four consecutive years.
Since 1997, to make the accumulated literature accessible to regional populations, small libraries were established in various regions, primarily through the efforts of ACHRC’s Human Rights course graduates. Despite their limited resources, these libraries aimed to address the lack of legal information.
In 2002, the idea of creating a Republican Human Rights Library Network was conceived to further develop the existing Human Rights libraries and establish new ones, fostering the development of legal culture in society.
Currently, the network includes six libraries located in Vanadzor, Dilijan, Hrazdan, Artashat, Gavar, and Sevan.
With the assistance of the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, the libraries in Dilijan, Hrazdan, Gavar, and Artashat have been modernized, equipped with contemporary furniture, technology, internet access, and new literature.
Today, the library network holds around 15,000 books (3,800 titles) in Armenian, English, and Russian, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, manuals, guides, and maps. Around 1,500 readers from all regions of Armenia—students, lecturers, teachers, NGO members, schoolchildren, and others—use the resources. On average, about 3,500 people benefit from the network’s services annually.
According to the library regulations, readers can borrow books for 10 days (two months for regional readers), as well as use the reading room and copying services.
The library has a donation fund that distributes literature to member libraries of the Human Rights Library Network, human rights NGOs, and other interested organizations or individuals.
Since December 2002, the Vanadzor Human Rights Library has implemented the Winisis software, enabling the entry of complete book information (title, author, pages, cost, etc.) into the system, significantly accelerating the process of locating books. Currently, the Armenian-language collection and part of the English-language collection are available online at:
http://www.distancelearning.am/web-catalog-hsik.htm.
Since October 2003, the “IRTEK” Legal Information System has been implemented in the Vanadzor Human Rights Library. The system contains a database of Armenia’s entire legislation, including codes, laws, and decisions by the President, Government, Ministries, National Assembly, and Constitutional Court since 1991. This search system allows users to quickly locate any document with minimal information.
The library also includes an audio-visual section, consisting of thematic films and audio recordings on human rights and UN-related topics.
The library network is mainly supported by about 50 local and international donor organizations.
Dear Reader, if you wish to raise your legal awareness, learn about your rights, current legislation, national and international human rights protection mechanisms, or various areas of law, you can register at any of the Human Rights Library Network’s member libraries.
We are confident that by doing so, you will contribute to the development of democratic principles in Armenia.
Address of the Central Human Rights Library:
Republic of Armenia, 2002, Vanadzor, Shirakatsi 1st Lane, No. 2
Phone: (+374 322) 2-29-67