National Library of Turkey : Millî Kütüphane

The National Library of Turkey was founded in 1946, as a part of the modernization and secularization schemes of the early Republican government. Adnan Ötüken was appointed the first director of the library and oversaw the foundation and expansion of the library. He was chosen, in part because of his experience in Germany where he was educated in Library Science and worked with western librarians.  Adnan Ötüken was an accomplished librarian and is regarded as the founder of the Turkish library system. He served as the director of the National library until 165, lectured at Ankara University and hosted a weekly radio show on Ankara Radio called Kitap Saati (Book Hour). Ötüken also established the Turkish Librarian’s Association. 

The National Library of Turkey grew quickly in the early years of its foundation. The early collection contained 8000 books, which prompted the creation of the national Library Charity in order to help the library expand its collection and to find storage space for the national Archives. This was necessary as the collection, which swelled to 60,000 books in its first year of existence, had outgrown the original building intended to serve as the library.  The old library building was concerted into a public library, and is today the “Adnan Ötüken Public Library”.

In the 1950’s under the ministry of Ötüken the National Library continued to expand it’s holdings, an was granted more legal status under Turkish law. This period also saw the affiliation of the library with the Ministry of Education. Upon Ötüken’s retirement, Dr. Müjgan Cunbur was appointed as the General Directorate of National Library. His role was expanded in 1979, when the General Directorate of National Library was transitioned into the General Directorate of Libraries and Publications in 1979. The new directorate had authority over not only the national library, but also of the growing library system in Turkey.  Today, the National Library is considered to supervise all of the libraries in Turkey, and many Turkish cities have a branch of the National Library there. 

In 1983, the National Library was moved into its current building. The General Directorate of Libraries and Publications was at the time granted the status of a presidential ministry and is today affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Since 2018, the National Library has received more attention at the presidential level, and in 2020 the Presidential Library Complex in Ankara was opened as an addition to the National Library, creating the largest library in Turkey. 

The National Library is regarded as a repository of national memory serving as a national archive, museum, and research center. According to the official website, the national Library “undoubtedly contributes significantly to Turkish culture, science, literature and art life with its services.”  The library has many sections and services, including a children’s library, an adolescent library, an audio and video library, a business library, and a research library.  The library contains a variety of special collections, including a collection of Turkish postage stamps. The library also hosts several cultural institutions including a Seljuk Museum, education centers, and the “Ceyhan Numa” hall in the library includes 16 columns representing 16 Turkish countries in history.  The Ceyhan Numa hall also contains cultural and artistic works from Turkish communities located all over the world. The National Library remains an important cultural institution in Turkey, proceeding with the opening of the Presidential Library Complex in 2020 and welcoming over 340,000 visitors, despite COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions. 

 

The Ceyhan Numa Hall 

A reading room at the National library 

The "World Library Room" at the national Library 

References

Kurulus Amaci ve Gorevlerimiz (Founding purposes and tasks). (n.d.). Retrieved from Millî Kütüphane (National Library): http://www.millikutuphane.gov.tr/page/Kurulus-Amaci-ve-gorevlerimiz

Çukadar, S. &. (2010)). General outlook on Turkish librarianship: UNAK-Turkish platform of law librarians. International Journal of Legal Information, 38.

Millî Kütüphane: Tarihce (National Library; History). (n.d.). Retrieved from Millî Kütüphane (National Library : http://www.millikutuphane.gov.tr/page/Tarihce

Njourd. (2020, February 29). Turkish National Library . Retrieved from Alanyarealty.com: https://www.alanyarealty.com/turkish-national-library/

Safak, Y. (2021, February 20). National Library of Turkey receives over 340,000 visitors in 2020. Retrieved from The Frontier Post: https://thefrontierpost.com/national-library-of-turkey-receives-over-340000-visitors-in-2020/

Staff. (2016). Adnan Ötüken . Retrieved from Biyogafya.com: https://www.biyografya.com/biyografi/15794