Underfunded: Armenia’s Forgotten Libraries

“Underfunded” explores public libraries throughout Armenia to showcase the ways in which these vital learning centers are being forced to survive without basic resources. Once boasting an estimated 1200 libraries during the Soviet era, Armenia is now said to have as few as 200 functioning public libraries to serve its 3 million citizens, and their needs are as great as ever.

Often operating without light, heat, bathrooms, or books newer than 20 years old, it’s clear that Armenia’s libraries have been forgotten and neglected since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. A combination of war, economic hardship and a devastating earthquake has meant that care for Armenia’s cultural and learning institutions has been placed on the backburner. Twenty-seven years later, their needs are as great as ever.

For a country that boasted an estimated 1200 libraries during the Soviet era, Armenia is now said to have as few as 200 functioning public libraries to serve its 3 million citizens. The images represent the literal and symbolic deterioration of public libraries, both in Armenia and around the world, and force us to reexamine whether we place enough value on free public access to information.

In April 2018, Armenia succeeded in having a grassroots, non-violent velvet revolution that resulted in the resignation of the corrupt ruling party that had held power since the country’s independence. A new, citizen-chosen government took their place, and with it ignited a renewed hope in the people of Armenia that they had power and control, as individuals, over their lives and their country. The core mission of libraries has long been to create a nation of informed and active citizens, and the people of Armenia will undoubtedly need the help of their public libraries as they move forward into a brand new era of democracy.