In the age of technology, it is easy to access information but if you are still one of those bookworms who love the smell of books, some of turkey's best library worth taking a tour
Technology has developed greatly over the years. It is easy to get any necessary information through the internet nowadays. Even though the internet is a quick way to obtain information, real information can still be found in libraries including those dating back 5,000 years. Here are the best libraries in Turkey:
National Library of Turkey, Ankara: Having first opened in 1946, the National Library of Turkey features nearly 4 million materials in its collection, which has been prepared by the ways of buying, compilation, donation, recirculation and change.
This large collection of the library comprises of 1,600,000 books, 84,000 books published in Ottoman Turkish, 27,631 manuscripts, 1,550,000 periodicals and 224,000 other materials. The National Library of Turkey is open between 9 a.m. and 12 a.m. on weekdays while it opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. on weekends.l İzmir National Library: The İzmir National Library has been serving on a street of the same name since April 23, 1912. There are 1,200,000 pieces in the library, which are the property of the İzmir National Library Foundation. The library, which is closed on Sundays, is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Turkiye Diyanet Foundation Center for Islamic Studies (İSAM), Istanbul: İSAM has been serving postgraduate local and foreign academicians and researchers. İSAM Library was first opened in 1984 to collect the necessary publications for the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation Islamic Encyclopedia and present all of them to the interest of scholars. In the library, which works with modern methods to enable all searching and publishing activities to continue in a quick and healthy way, books and periodicals about Islamic culture, history and civilization are presented to the service of researchers, being followed regularly. Nearly 700 people a day benefit from the library.
İSAM Library and Application service opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m.
Istanbul University Library: Featuring more than a million publications, the Istanbul University Central Library became a national library as part of the Law of Collecting Publications and Paintings in 1934. Having first opened on Nov. 30, 1924, it has been serving students and academicians along with various other readers for nearly a century. The library is open 24 hours.
Plane and Train Library, Çankırı: Initiated by Çankırı University to encourage children to read more, the Plane and Train Library operates in the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Park in the city. The plane, which is an Airbus A300, and a train welcome children of any age and help them to discover reading and the magical world of books.
Salt Research Library, Istanbul: The Salt Reference Library serves 47,000 people in a year with its collection comprising of 110,000 publications. In the library, where archive, online content research and support tools are provided, there are many services and opportunities for qualified searches. Users conducting works in various disciplines, especially in modern and contemporary art, architecture, design, urbanism, social and economic history, benefit from this library, where digital archive documents are available for researchers along with publications. Located on Bankalar Street in Karaköy, it was used as the Ottoman Bank General Directorate building between 1892 and 1999. The library is open between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays apart from Monday.
Atatürk Library, Istanbul: Opening its doors to the public as well as researchers, the Atatürk Library is operating under the umbrella of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's Directorate of Library and Museums. The library is one of the most functional libraries in Turkey. The Atatürk Library, which has nearly 500,000 books in its collection, is also in possession of about 50,000 manuscripts, photo albums, maps, calendars, postcards and newspapers.
Beyazıt State Library, Istanbul: Beyazıt State Library was the first library opened by the state in Turkey on June 24, 1884, at the soup-kitchen part of the Beyazıt Social Complex. When it was opened, the library's name was "Kütüphane-i Umumi-i Osmani." However, it was changed to Beyazıt State Library with a decision by the seventh National Education Council in 1961. Some 100,900 people benefited from the library, which features more than 1 million documents and is open day and night, in 2017.
Female Writers' Library, Istanbul: This extraordinary library was founded on Apr. 14, 1990, on the shore of the Golden Horn in Istanbul. The building, which the library calls its home, was restored by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
After 18 years, the library still operates with its mission to "learn more about women's past, present female history to researchers and preserve works by female writers for the future generations."
Turabi Baba Library, Istanbul: Turabi Baba Khanqah was opened in the last quarter of the 18th century by one of the seamen working at the Tersane-i Amire, the state shipyard, Sheik Mehmed Turabi Efendi, who died in 1812. The building of the khanqah was used as an important center where soldiers and ammunition were collected for the national struggle during the occupation of Istanbul. It served as Kasımpaşa Sports Club for a while after khanqahs and zawiyas were closed. In 1975, a fire broke out and the building was collapsed, staying neglected after the fire. Only the tomb part of the construction survived until today. After it was restored, being faithful to its original, it was opened to serve as the Beyoğlu Municipality Turabibaba Library and Information Retrieval Center in 2018 by the Beyoğlu Municipality. Two-story library on a 1,000-square-meter area serves people with its interesting story.
Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Istanbul: The foundation of the archive in this library consists of the manuscripts of Süleyman the Magnificent. Currently, the library is home to more than 70,000 original manuscripts including Avicenna's manuscripts that were recognized by UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. The library was founded in the Süleymaniye Mosque's madrasahs in 1927.
İneybey Manuscript Library, Bursa: Housing 9,000 volumes of manuscripts and about 20,000 printed books, the library operated in the madrasah that was built during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I. The library has been offering its serves to the public and academics since 1969. The library is open between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. except Sundays and national holidays.
