Atatürk Library

Atatürk Library does service directly public and society under Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. It is the initial library of early republic period.

First library of Istanbul has been built in Şehremaneti in 1924.The Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Muhittin Üstündağ established Municipal Museum and Library with the comission members Fuat Köprülü, Halil Edhem,Süheyl Ünver,Osman Nuri Ergin’s decision in 1939. That commission came together in Şişli Atatürk evi and gathered collections to the Beyazit moslem theological school in 1931. Library has been seperated from museum in 1945 because of intense purchasing and donation, therefore in 1960’s library could not outgrow to its own building.

In 50th year of Republic Of Turkey, Koç Holding A.Ş. built a structure in 1973 in Taksim Avenue. That building has been started to call with the name of Atatürk in 1981. Atatürk library still remains in same building at the present time. Osman Ergin, Muallim Cevdet, Haşim İşcan and Muhsin Ertuğrul are the founder and intensive donator of IMM Atatürk Library. With Founder’s and other 100 donator person’s donation, number of books of Atatürk Library reached to approximately 140.000 and nowadays that number has reached to nearly 500.000 books.

Atatürk Library has great users group from elementry school students to international researches and academicians. IMM Atatürk Library is surely initial functional library of our country. In IMM Atatürk Library contains almost 50.000 manuscripts, albums, atlas, maps, calendars, yearbooks, postcards newspapers and collections about Istanbul, Atatürk and other special collections . These collections have been digitalizated since therefore, aging, fatigue and deformation of paper,disappearing information and loosing documents have been prevented. Approximately 1.000.000 printed papers have been digitalized.

Atatürk Library gets attention with 500.000 books capacity, tome and restoration atelier, physical archive, conference room, exhibition hall and providing of making photocopy and microfilm and other cultural activities. Atatürk Library has alfabetic subject catalogs (Dewey), dictionary and subject headlined card catalog works. Our library uses Anglo American Cataloging Rules. Besides a functional multiple querying and searching database has been generated. Services of loan books, selling new or old digital work’s CD to domestic or foreing searchers and making photocopy is possible in our library.