As metaphorical fountains for the flow of time, libraries continue to pass information to future generations, with millions of resources across an infinite range of topics. Throughout the world, dozens of magnificent libraries hold a wealth of history, defying time and offering readers and visitors alike an extraordinary experience. At the same time, many of these libraries have digitized a significant portion of their archives, offering the ease of access we’ve come to expect in the present day.
A different type of pleasure comes from conducting research in a library – accessing an original source within rich archives. Türkiye, with a literacy rate of over 95%, has 31,451 libraries operating across the country. These include 1,162 public libraries, 598 university libraries, and 29,690 formal and non-formal education institutions. In addition, there is the National Library of Türkiye, which, according to 2018 data, contains 1,463,488 volumes.
The Turkish Presidential Library
Opened in 2020, the Turkish Presidential Library, the largest library in Türkiye, is expected to rank among the world’s most important libraries. With a closed area of 125,000 square meters and a capacity of 5,000 people, the Library contains 4 million printed books, over 120 million electronic publications, and 550,000 eBooks and rare works. Printed books in 134 different languages and 120 million articles and reports from more than 100 countries have already taken their places on shelves that have a total length of 201 kilometers.
The Turkish Presidential Library features a strong technological infrastructure, with features such as the integrated transport system implemented for the first time in Türkiye; the Library allows members to access information 24/7 with mobile apps. In addition, it has special-purpose classes and halls within the Library.
Address: Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi, 06560, Beştepe, Yenimahalle/Ankara
Telephone: +90 312 525 73 75 / 77 (between 09:15 and 17:45)
+90 312 525 55 55 (Operator)
Opening Hours: 09:15 – 17:45 on weekdays, closed on wekends.
Website: https://mk.gov.tr/
The National Library: A repository of cultural memory
Founded on April 15, 1946, the National Library of Türkiye is the country’s largest library and archive. Opened to the public on August 16, 1948, the Library is literally the ‘cultural memory’ of Türkiye, with nearly 1.5 million printed books, more than 270,000 periodicals, 32 types and 154,056 non-book materials, and 1,505 rare manuscripts with Latin letters. There’s also a collection of 26,0362 rolls of microfilm; and services are provided to researchers with 21 electronic databases.
Among the historical manuscripts in the Library are “Muradname”, written in 1428 and the first encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, “Saltuk-name” by Ebu’l-Hayr Rumi, and “Macera-yı Mah” by Udi. The National Library also holds the first books printed in Arabic letters during the Ottoman period, rare books in the Latin alphabet dating back to 1801, and an extensive collection of ‘cönkler’ – minstrel and folklore literature. Keeping up with the new generation, the Library also offers 13 million documents in over 20 electronic databases. There’s also a music collection of 5,000 gramophone records, via the “Records System”.
Address: Bahçelievler, İsmet İnönü Blv. No:4, 06490 Çankaya/Ankara
Telephone: +90 312 470 82 03
Operating hours: Operates 24 hours excluding national and religious holidays.
Opening Hours: Opens at 09:00 on weekdays, 09:30 on weekends.
Requests: Between 09:00 and 16:30 on weekdays.
Website: http://www.millikutuphane.gov.tr/
İSAM Kütüphanesi
ISAM Library, also known as the Centre for Islamic Studies, was established in 1984. Emerging from the idea of instituting a better research centre for postgraduate and doctoral students, in addition to the Encyclopaedia of Islam prepared by the Turkish Religious Foundation, which was established to support and promote the services of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, ISAM Library is one of the most advanced libraries in Türkiye today. Having its diversity increased over time, the library now has a very large archive in the fields of history, literature and social sciences.
In addition to approximately 300 thousand books, there are approximately 230 thousand volumes of journals, 23 thousand Ottoman qadi registry microfilms, 1600 CDs and 18 thousand document files in the library. Serving its users with a total of 10 databases, ISAM is an exceptional library especially for those interested in Islamic studies and social sciences.
Address: İcadiye Bağlarbaşı Cad. No:40 Üsküdar – Istanbul
Telephone: +90 216 474 08 50
Working Hours: 08:30 – 19:00
Website: http://ktp.isam.org.tr/
Rare Works Library: Atatürk’s library list and the report cards of Ottoman princes
The report cards of Ottoman princes, Quranic verses inscribed in rosary beads, and manuscripts and books checked out by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk…The Rare Works Library , serving since 1924, sheds light on history. The Library contains an invaluable trove of political, historical, cultural and artistic works, with 93,071 volumes in Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Latin and other languages. The archive is not limited to books; the collection includes magazines, newspapers, maps, as the collection of Abdulhamid II: this includes 911 albums with notes and 36,585 photos, and his sons’ report cards!
The Rare Works Library also contains the original reading table, library and bookshelves from the Yıldız Palace, as well as a writing set with a candlestick, map desk and writing instruments; the first samples from Yıldız Porcelain Factory; and the flag and the Holy Quran. There are also more than 1,500 detective novels: these were published as serials in foreign newspapers, translated by hand into Ottoman Turkish and bound by order of the Sultan. Rumor has it that Abdulhamid read these at night to fall asleep.
In addition, the Library holds the collection of valuable books and various personal belongings of Ibn’ül Emin Mahmut Kemal İnal, and the collections of Rıza Pasha, Halis Efendi, Mollazade İbrahim Bey and Hakkı Pasha.
You can examine a 10th century Quran manuscript, or peruse the poetry of Kanuni (the Lawgiver), who wrote poems for Hurrem Sultan under the name of Muhibbi (the Lover), which were hardbound and embroidered with the gold wire of Selim III. The fashion book of Fazıl of Enderun, an illustrated copy of men’s and women’s garments prepared upon the request of his lover, is another remarkable asset. The books checked out by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk are exhibited in a special room in the Library.
Address: Besim Ömer Paşa Cad. No:15 34451 Beyazıt / İstanbul
Telephone: +90 212 455 57 00
Operating hours: Operates between 08:30 and 17:00 on weekdays.
Website: https://kutuphane.istanbul.edu.tr/tr/content/nadir-eserler-kutuphanesi/hakkimizda
Women’s Work Library and Information Center: By and about women
The 30-year-old Women’s Works Library and Information Center in the diverse Balat district holds the title of the first and only women-centered library of Türkiye.
Containing works and documents by and related to women from the Ottoman Era to the present, the Library has more than 48 private archive collections, nearly 15,000 books and a collection of more than 470 periodical publications. There are women’s personal archives, family documents, letters, diaries, and campaigns and records of women’s organizations, as well as artworks, women’s autobiographies and biographies, films, videos, posters, oral history records and the transcriptions.
Address: Fener Mahallesi, Mürsel Paşa Cad. No: 8, Fener Vapur İskelesi Karşısı (Tarihi Bina), Fatih / İstanbul
Telephone: +90 212 621 81 34
Operating hours: Operates between 08:30 and 17:30 on weekdays.
Website: http://kadineserleri.org/
Beyazıt State Library
Established in 1884, during the reign of Abdülhamid II, Beyazıt State Library is the first library in Türkiye to be instituted by the state. Equipped with technological facilities in a historical site, the library is located in two historical buildings overlooking Beyazıt Square, near the Bayezid Mosque and Sahaflar Çarşısı (Second Hand Book Bazaar of İstanbul).
Having over 1 million documents, 800 thousand of which consists of books, in its collection today, there are 5000 audio books for the visually impaired as well in Beyazıt State Library. 30 thousand journals consisting of 130 thousand volumes and 55 thousand newspaper volumes consisting of approximately 1800 newspaper labels are also among the contents of the wealthy archive of Beyazıt State Library. Hakkı Tarık Us Library, which is the largest collection of books and periodicals collected by a single person in Türkiye, was merged with the archive of Beyazıt State Library in 2003. In this sense, a wide range and functional archive awaits readers. If you desire to find every book, journal, newspaper and non-book material published in Türkiye since 1934, we recommend you to visit Beyazıt State Library.
Address: Turan Emeksiz Sok. No:6 Beyazıt / İstanbul
Telephone: +90 212 522 31 67
Working Hours: 09:00 – 19:00 Except Sundays
Website: https://istanbulbeyazitdevlet.kutuphane.gov.tr/
The Konya Manuscript Library: Philosophers’ works
Serving since 1984, the Konya Manuscript Library is among Türkiye’s notable libraries, with a collection that includes a 17th-century bible printed in Rome, “El-Kanun Fi’t Tıbb (The Canon of Medicine)” of Avicenna, and the imperial order of Sultan Abdulhamid II, as well as valuable works by philosophers such as Rumi and Ibn-ul Arabi. These, along with 30,000 manuscripts – most of which belong to the Seljuk period – are kept in a secure area with a combination steel door and four layers of insulation. The Konya Manuscript Library is also in step with the digital era, with 140,000 manuscripts available electronically in seven languages that include Arabic, Persian, Armenian, Syriac, Kurdish, Ottoman Turkish and Chagatay.
Address: Abdülaziz, Yavuz Selim Cad. No: 86 Meram / Konya
Telephone: +90 332 351 12 16
Operating hours: Operates between 08:00 and 17:00 every day, except Sunday.
Website: http://www.konya.yek.gov.tr/
The METU Library
Having started rendering service in a 6 m2 room with 50 books in 1956, the METU Library moved to its current location in 1963. The library, which continued its activities by using a section of the Faculty of Architecture until its new building was built, is the first in-campus library in Türkiye that complies with contemporary library standards. The library was designed to host 250 thousand books and accommodate 2000 people.
In addition to 520 thousand printed books in its archive, today, the METU Library has 200 thousand periodicals and approximately 30 thousand theses as well. Also containing audio-visual materials, a total of 173 databases serve users in the METU Library. Please note that the library, which has a very broad electronic information resource, is located in the METU, one of the most beautiful university campuses in Türkiye.
Address: Üniversiteler Mah. Dumlupınar Bulvarı No:1 Çankaya / Ankara
Telephone: +90 312 210 27 79
Working Hours: 8:45 – 17:15 During the weekdays
Website: https://lib.metu.edu.tr
İzmir National Library: Opened by the public
Opened in 1912, the Izmir National Library has an exemplary story. As the first library in Türkiye to bear the ‘national’ title, the Library was founded by the public. A cinema was also erected to provide a consistent source of income for the Library, which had been surviving on donations. This Elhamra Cinema quickly paid the Library’s debts, but it took many years for the Library to move from its original location in an alley to its current location. Still, it has a strong historical aura that visitors immediately feel. The National Library is a treasure of Izmir in both the quality and the quantity of its collection, which numbers nearly 1,200,000 books, including 4,000 original manuscripts, and first editions by well-known authors of the era. There’s also a biography of Aristotle that was printed in 1531 at the Gutenberg Printing House, and the work of Kâtip Çelebi – the Cihannüma – printed in the Ottoman-era İbrahim Müteferrika Printing House.
Address: Milli Kütüphane Cad. No:39 Konak / İzmir
Telephone: +90 232 484 20 02
Operating hours: Operates between 09:00 and 17:00 every day except Sunday.
Website: http://www.izmirmillikutuphane.com/
Bilkent University Main Campus Library
One of the most advanced libraries of Türkiye is located at the Bilkent University campus. The library of Bilkent University, which allocates the highest budget to library expenditures in Türkiye, is also cited as one of the few renowned university libraries of the world. Bilkent University Library ranked first in the category of “number of articles open to public” in the research conducted by Leiden University in 2019, in which 1000 universities were evaluated.
Billkent University Main Campus Library hosts a wide range of collections. There are 80 thousand e-journals and around 90 thousand printed magazines as well as approximately 500 thousand books and 1 million e-books in the archive of the library. In addition to nearly 220 thousand microforms, approximately 40 thousand works on multimedia are among the significant treasures of the library.
Address: Bilkent Üniversitesi Merkez Kampus Kütüphane, Çankaya / Ankara
Telephone: +90 312 266 44 72
Working Hours: 8:30 – 17:00 Weekdays
Website: https://library.bilkent.edu.tr/
Sulaymaniyah Manuscript Library: Manuscripts and printed works, traditional handicrafts.
The Sulaymaniyah Manuscript Library came into existence when the first and second madrassas of the Süleymaniye Complex were turned into libraries. The library hosts precious collections of manuscripts and printed works. The establishment, which was started to be referred to as the Süleymaniye Public Library in 1918 after it was decided to bring many valuable manuscripts together in Süleymaniye Manuscripts Library and preserve those that were not sufficiently preserved from a number of libraries serving in İstanbul and all over Anatolia, contains the Süleymaniye collection, which forms its core.
There are 152 collections in the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, including the Sultan’s libraries such as Hagia Sophia and Laleli, which were founded by the important statesmen such as Fatih, Hamidiye, Sultan Ahmed, and Mahmud I. It is also possible to view magnificent examples of traditional arts such as binding, illumination, miniature, calligraphy and marbling in the library.
Address: Ayşe Kadın Hamam Sokak No: 27, Fatih – İstanbul
Telephone: +90 212 520 64 60
Working Hours: Digital images of the works can be accessed between 08:30 and 23:00 hours every day, including public holidays.
Website: http://www.suleymaniye.yek.gov.tr/
İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Taksim Atatürk Library: Nearly 50 thousand collection items
Taksim Atatürk Library, serving the public and private researchers, is one of the first libraries of the Republican era. Atatürk Library, the establishment of which was started in the Şehremaneti Department in 1924, was first moved to the Atatürk’s House in Şişli and then to the Beyazıt Madrassa in 1931. By the 1960s, the library, which outgrew the space it occupied in the madrassa, would then serve large masses under the name Atatürk Library. Atatürk Library has nearly 50 thousand special collection items such as manuscripts, albums, atlases-maps, calendars, yearbooks, postcards, newspapers, as well as articles about Atatürk, İstanbul and applications. Approximately 1,000,000 pages of the archive in Taksim Atatürk Library, one of the most functional libraries in İstanbul, have been transferred to digital media recently.
Address: Miralay Şefik Bey Sok. No: 6 Taksim, Beyoğlu – İstanbul
Telephone: +90 212 249 95 65
Working Hours: Between 09:00 and 21:00, 7-day of the week
Website: http://ataturkkitapligi.ibb.gov.tr/
Bursa İnebey Manuscript Library: A scholarly place, unique manuscripts
İnebey Manuscript Library is virtually a treasure-trove of manuscripts and printed works found in libraries in and around Bursa. Offering valuable works to researchers upon meticulous processes of recording, cataloguing and classification, the library is one of the few cultural establishments in Türkiye that provides service in this arena.
The building of İnebey Madrassa, where İnebey Manuscript Library is located, was ordered and put into operation by the Subaşı İnebey, one of the statesmen of the Yıldırım Beyazıt era.
Let us also add that the courtyard of the madrassa, which bears the traces of impressive 14th century architecture, is accessed by an ostentatious double-sided staircase, and the entrance to the interior area is through a door in a pointed arched niche.
Address: İnebey Cad. İnebey Sok. No: 5, Osmangazi – Bursa
Telephone: +90 224 222 72 14
Working Hours: Digital images of the works can be accessed between 08:30 and 17:00 every day other than public holidays and Sundays.
Website: http://www.inebey.yek.gov.tr/
Koç University Suna Kıraç Library: 24-hour access to all actual publications
Becoming operational in 1993 as part of Koç University, Suna Kıraç Library is situated at the centre of the university campus. With a seating capacity of 900, the library is home to 651,069 different collections. Suna Kıraç Library also has a reading room where all actual printed journals and daily newspapers can be found.
Containing over 250,000 printed books and approximately 170,000 electronic books, mainly in English and Turkish, Suna Kıraç Library brings manuscripts and rare works on Ottoman and European history, literature and religion together with students and researchers.
Address: Rumelifeneri Yolu 34450 Sarıyer – İstanbul
Telephone: +90 212 338 13 38
Working Hours: Suna Kıraç Library is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Website: https://library.ku.edu.tr/
Adnan Ötüken Provincial Public Library: A rich archive in the Capital since 1922
Adnan Ötüken Provincial Public Library is a cultural establishment that started to serve as the Public Library for Learning in 1922 and since 1985, continued its operations, taking the name of Adnan Ötüken, the founder of the Turkish National Library.
Located in a building built by the German architect Paul Bonatz in Çankaya – Ankara, Adnan Ötüken Library serves the public with a greatly rich archive of approximately 500,000 printed books and periodicals.
Address: Kumrular Caddesi No: 3, Kızılay – Ankara
Telephone: +90 312 410 90 00
Working Hours: The library operates at varying hours on weekdays and weekends.
Website: https://adnanotuken.kutuphane.gov.tr/
BONUS: Collected from the garbage and built into a library!
The sanitation workers of the Çankaya Municipality in Ankara took books that had been trashed, disinfected them one by one, and built a library on their construction site four years ago. Today, the collection features 25,000 books! Library users – mainly students – have access to a wide range of volumes on history, politics, personal development and health. The sanitation workers also send books to prisons. In addition, these workers converted a garbage truck to a mobile library that serves village schools and district libraries.
Address: Sancak Mahallesi Tiflis Cad. 516 Sokak No: 4 Çankaya / Ankara
Telephone: 0312 438 67 27
*The operating hours of these libraries may have changed due to the pandemic. Please check the operating hours before visiting the library.
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