İzmir National Library celebrates 100th year

İZMİR - Anatolia News Agency

İzmir’s National library, which was established in 1912, is one of the most important venues and monuments in İzmir and currently readies to celebrate its 100th year.

The İzmir National Library is celebrating its 100th year with arts and culture activities, including a concert by the Anadolu Philharmonic Orchestra. The library, which was established in 1912, is one of the most important venues and monuments in İzmir.

The library foundation president, Ulvi Tuğ, told Anatolia news agency that the first event of the celebration would be a concert at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center. The event, titled “An İzmir Dream 2,” will host the Anadolu Philharmonic Orchestra while Yılmaz Karakoyunlu will present poems and songs about İzmir and its history. The orchestra will also play some Turkish folk songs.

Project for Neşet Ertaş

Anadolu Philharmonic manager Kenan Gökkaya said: “The national library is the honorary monument and also the treasure of the city. It keeps the history of İzmir in it, so we are proud to be a part of this event.” Neşet Ertaş, a famous Turkish folk singer and poet, had originally planned to take part in the event, but canceled due to health problems. “Currently we are dedicating the project to Ertaş,” Gökkaya added.

The event will be free of charge and open to the general public, he said.

“At the concert we would like to tell İzmir’s stories with folk songs and music. We would like to tell the stories of İzmir,” Gökkaya said.

The library has served all book lovers and every arts and culture event for many years, Tuğ said. The library has also supported villages that have no library by sending books, he said.

The building is not sufficient for its current activities and books, said Tuğ, so the foundation has decided to turn the library into a museum. Tuğ said their aim was to make the museum and the library top-of-the-line with a reading room for visually handicapped people and another for children. The library is a significant monument for the collective memory of İzmir and for its cultural background, he said, adding that they aimed to add value to the 100-year-old building.

The celebrations for the 100th year of the library will take place with lots of arts events, which events will continue until Oct. 12.