Newmag and FINCA Armenia Donated 500 Books to the Berd Community Library

The initiative aims to support community libraries across Armenia by helping them update their collections and provide readers, particularly children and young people, with access to contemporary Armenian and translated world literature.

The director of the Berd Community Library, Anahit Arakelyan, described the donation as a celebration for the library and its readers. She noted that the arrival of new books is one of the most important events for the library, giving readers the opportunity to discover new works and significantly enriching its collection.

The library’s readers also welcomed the new books with enthusiasm, particularly appreciating the opportunity to read contemporary literature in Armenian in new editions and with modern design.

During the donation, Newmag Editor-in-Chief Gnel Nalbandyan presented several of the newly donated titles and encouraged librarians to actively recommend quality literature to their readers.

“These are all wonderful publications, each one a cultural treasure. They are carefully edited, proofread and polished works of Armenian literature. Our request to librarians is to recommend good literature to the children, teenagers and adults who come to the library,” he said.

According to Nalbandyan, access to books also gives people living in the regions an opportunity to stay connected with the wider cultural and intellectual world.

FINCA Armenia Chief Commercial Officer Vardan Haroyan emphasized the personal significance of the initiative, recalling that he grew up in a family of librarians and spent much of his childhood in a library.

“For me, this initiative also carries a very personal symbolism. I grew up in Ararat, in a librarian’s family. My mother worked at the Ararat City Library for around 45 years, and I spent my childhood in a library. Reading was an important part of our family culture,” he said.

Haroyan noted that supporting education and reading is an important part of FINCA Armenia’s social responsibility efforts.

“There is hardly a greater investment than education and shaping a person through education. I hope and believe that some of the children who read these books will become better people and better citizens,” he said, thanking Newmag and the Berd Community Library for their work.

Newmag Head Artak Aleksanyan presented the background of the community library support program, noting that Armenia has 386 libraries, while the state directly finances only ten regional libraries, with the remaining libraries supported by local communities.

Through partnerships with the private sector, Newmag is working to support community libraries whose collections have not been substantially updated since Armenia’s independence.

“We are helping community libraries whose collections, in many cases, have not been replenished since 1991. I am grateful to FINCA for understanding the importance of social programs like this, because they are investments in education, critical thinking and values. Their results may become visible only five, ten or fifteen years from now,” Aleksanyan said.

He also emphasized that books should not simply remain on library shelves, but should reach readers.

“We publish these books with great love, and they are meant to be read. Please share them, circulate them and give them to readers. Our goal is to make children interested in reading,” he said.

Aleksanyan also invited readers and members of Newmag’s literary community to organize discussions at the Berd library, emphasizing that the publishing house is equally interested in reaching readers across Armenia, regardless of where they live.

Berd Community Mayor Astghik Hakobyan expressed her gratitude to Newmag and FINCA Armenia for the donation, noting the importance of the initiative for the development of the community and its reading culture.

The Berd City Library was founded in 1934. Its collection currently contains 69,968 books, with 190 registered readers and approximately 500 visits.

With the addition of 500 new books, readers in Berd now have greater access to contemporary Armenian literature and translated works from around the world, creating new opportunities not only for reading, but also for literary discussions and community engagement.

The donation is part of Newmag’s ongoing efforts to strengthen community libraries and bring contemporary literature to readers throughout Armenia.