Unique library in northern Turkey draws interest for its architecture

KARABÜK

A library in the northern province of Karabük has caught the attention of people with its unique architecture. The building bears resemblance to a bookshelf, with books stacked alongside each other. 

The architecture of the library emulates the Kansas City Public Library in the United States. 

The library, which was built at Karabük University (KBU) with support from Kamil Güleç, a Turkish philanthropist, provides access to 60,000 books in print and six million digital publications. 

“The Kamil Güleç Library is equipped with cutting-edge technology,” said Özcan Büyükgenç, head of the library documentation department at the university.

“Students can borrow and return books at kiosks equipped with self-check systems,” said Büyükgenç. 

He added that through an interlibrary system, students could order books from any other library across Turkey. 

“If we don’t have a resource and any of the 192 libraries in Turkey has it, the reader can order it and it will be delivered to them within three days,” said the library head. 

Some 450,000 people have used the library since it opened 10 months ago, Büyükgenç said, adding that the library stays open for 24 hours including the weekends. 

He said that 50 different schools and institutions from different cities have visited the library. 

Students visiting the library told Anadolu Agency that they benefit greatly with the facility. 

“There is no book that we can’t find in the library,” said Emrah Cakan, an automative engineering student. 

“We like the study area,” said Fadime Kaplan, a child development student. 

“It’s not rich only in terms of design but also content,” said Muhammet Furkan Türkmen, a student at the theology faculty. 

Turkey is celebrating National Library Week. The event is marked in the last week of March every year since 1964. 

The week aims to encourage reading habits among children and raise awareness for improving libraries.