Public Libraries | Turkey | Advocacy | Libraries abroad
By
Kaya Genç
Last month, the Turkish Statistical Institute announced that the
number of public library memberships in Turkey increased by 24.1 percent
in 2016, compared to the previous year. In a time of terror, political
uncertainty, and a coup attempt, Turks took refuge in libraries.
Some Istanbul libraries owe their existence to taxes; others to
banks; one to an English monarch. SALT is located in the previous
headquarters of the Ottoman Bank, which was founded in 1856 on the
orders of Queen Victoria, a friend of the westernizing Sultan
Abdulmecid. The building opened at a time when Turkish-British
commercial ties were at their peak. Today, its library houses 110,000
books. Last year, it served more than 47,000 readers.
On a recent weekday the library was bustling with bright-eyed
readers, and every seat were occupied. A hush fell over after I entered
the reading room. On a desk by the entrance, a young man pored over a
book; he checked a page number, and he typed a footnote to his thesis;
in the little garden outside, two young girls smoked rollies. SALT is
paid for by Garanti, a private Turkish bank. This is part of a trend.
Read more...
