History

Library

History of the Library

The story of the foundation of our library begins in March 1998 with 200 books and a computer set in our first building.

Establishing a university library requires a sense of responsibility; it both challenges you and pleases you at the same time. However; it is necessary to accurately predict the future, determine targets and take proper steps because technological developments appear quickly and the 21st century is around the corner.

The initial work began with making a list of periodicals and course books from the academics and placing orders for the very first books to appear in the library. After five months of tireless work, in July 1998 a classroom was shifted for library purposes in the building of the School of Business in July 1998. Gradually, students began visit this new library and study their lessons in there despite very limited resources.

Setting up a New Infrastructure

Developing technologies made it necessary to set up a future-oriented infrastructure for the library. For this purpose, an automation software was purchased and utilized for the first time while most universities were still using card catalogs at the time. In line with this, more orders were placed for books and periodicals.

Today, our librarians work at a fast pace. In the first half of 1999, the number of books registered into the library archive was 1129, with 56 international periodicals and 7 Turkish periodicals, circulating 598 books to 228 users. A brochure was also published to introduce and promote the Library. At the time, there were only two librarians on duty.

Book Donations

In the early years, our students and academic and administrative staff donated 779 books to the library.  

An award ceremony was organized by the Board of Trustees and the Office of President to acknowledge these donations and a cocktail was followed the speeches and award presentations.

1998 – 1999 Book Donators

  • Prof. Ergun KİP (Chairperson of the Department of Economics of the School of Business 1998)
  • Ferid KROMER, (Mining Engineer msci)
  • Fuat I. KARAYAZICI
  • Gulen ZAIM
  • Mehmet BILMAN
  • Ali SAHIN, (Accounting and Finance Manager of Atılım Yapı Taahhüdü A.Ş.)
  • Prof. Ali YAZICI, (Department of Computer Engineering, Atılım University)
  • Burcu YAVUZ, (Student of School of Business)
  • Prof. Cevdet ERDOST, (Hacettepe University)
  • Prof. Engin UZMEN, (Deputy Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences of Atılım University, Chairperson of the Department of English Language and Literature)
  • Eser CAGATAY, (Bilkent University)
  • HAYRIYE OZEN, (School of Business, Atilim University)
  • Fatih GAYRAN, (Student of the School of Business)
  • Prof. Huner TUNCER, (Department of International Relations, Atilim University)
  • Prof. Ihsan TARAKCIOGLU, (Vice President of Atilim University)
  • Imran GUNER, (General Coordinator of Setenay Turizm ve Organizasyon)
  • Instructor M. Guven ARDAHAN, (Higher School of Tourism and Hotel Management, Eastern Mediterranean University)
  • Instructor M.Kemal OKTEM
  • Instructor Osman M. KARATEPE (Higher School of Tourism and Hotel Management, Eastern Mediterranean University)
  • Prof. Refik CULPAN, (Visiting Instructor of the School of Business, Bilkent University)
  • Prof. Tulga OCAK, (Hacettepe University)
  • Prof. Ziya Gokalp MULAYIM
  • Murat KARAYALCIN  (Mayor of Ankara)

The Donators’ Board

The names of all donators appear on a board designed for this purpose. These donations over the years, and the names of the donators are published on the Library’s web page.

A Growing Library

Atilim library was growing rapidly, and so has the number of its users, necessitating more space.

A large space was allocated to the Library in the adjacent building constructed for the School of Business.

In the 2000-2001 academic year, the Library moved to its new building and resumed service in a brand-new atmosphere with 20,615 printed books.

Staff

Growth and expansion of the Library required new members to provide better service.

As the Library family grew, so did the pace of work. The staff was increased from 2 to 6 in 2000 with new units getting shaped. Today, there are 24 staff members offering services for users.

A Slice of the Past

We wish to share an invaluable memory with our readers. Turkey, celebrates the last week of March as its “National Library Week”. Each year, the Atilim University Board of Trustees sends a bouquet to Library Staff in acknowledgements of their efforts.

Expending the Archive

The main focus of the library was to purchase printed materials, while subscribing to 7 databases for our users to access information 24/7.

Later, other library services were initiated using the web for both electronic and printed publications.

The number of printed and electronic publications is over 100.000 and still increasing rapidly. In addition, the number of periodicals has reached 7000.

Library Layout

As the six halls of the Library were not sufficient to meet the needs of ever growing archive and seating capacity, there was a need to construct a new library building.

The foundation of the new library building was laid on 10 April 2011 and the construction was completed in December 2012 covering 8800 square meters. The new library is a 4-storey including building.

Directorates of Distance Education and Information and Communication as well as the storages are located at the ground floor, and administrative offices, a photocopy center, a study hall for the disabled, daily newspaper hall, meeting hall, a study hall, the circulation desk and an exhibition hall together with a café at the first floor.

Floor Plan (First Floor): Information desks, reserve-reference books and Corporate Archive, reading halls, 4 private study halls and 25 rooms. Floor Plan (Second Floor): Corporate Archive of the University, Ankara Digital City Archive, periodicals hall, Media Center and movie theater.

Several social activities such as book clubs and academic staff-student meetings are organized in the venues.

E-Library Services

The library keeps pace with recent developments and the University objectives of becoming a research institution. Today, information is provided to researchers through digital media, and “E-science and Information Management” concept has been born. In short, the expectations and needs of researchers have changed throughout time, making it a duty for libraries to provide services in a variety of ways such as full-text, audio, visual, or other forms. This makes it possible for more individuals to access valuable and large-scale archives through digital libraries on wider and faster networks.

E-Journals

Today, it has become inevitable to publish printed bulletins and journals in a web environment as our age requires. In December 2005, these publications began under the title “Atilim University - Directorate of Library and Documentation / E-Bulletin” on the website of the library. The quarterly journal was published under the title “Yansı” after the 39th issue.

This journal contains various articles, interviews with intellectuals, Atilim students, instructors and assistants, publication both general and Ankara-specific as well as the activities at the University and the Library.

By publishing videos on the Internet, the Library was among the first to break new grounds in this field among the universities.

Corporate Archive Database

The Corporate Archive studies of the University started on October 13th 2006 with the view that a library should not be a mere place where individuals study or borrow books. In other words, we aim to register and record intellectual properties of the University and to make them digitally accessible for researchers. The purpose is to establish a database through which everyone can digitally access conferences, seminars and panels organized at Atilim University along with pictures, videos and full transcripts of such events. This is a challenging task because events are to be filmed, speeches transcribed, and pictures taken and published, making the initiative among the first of its kind in Turkey. The website of the library was launched on 15 February 2007, and was immediately accessed by a large number of visitors.

Free Access Database

All theses as well as articles and papers written by the Atilim University academics, assistants and students are available on the Free Access Database and indexed on other international sites such as OAlster, ROAR, OpenDOAR, and GOOGLE SCHOLAR.

The Ankara Digital City Archive Database

Creating a digital city archive means preserving the identity of that city and raising citizenship awareness. By transferring cultural heritage of Ankara into a digital environment, the University aspires to establishing such an archive accessible by anyone any time.

This archive includes books, journals, theses, articles, pictures, movies (short-feature films), conference transcripts, historical sites, famous people, books and biographies of authors, profiles of cinema artists, profiles and artworks of musicians, statesmen; culture, folk stories, songs and dances, legends, requiems, cuisine, old and famous restaurants and patisseries, business figures, cinemas, theaters, flora and funa etc.

These archives also serve as a pool for everyone to share related documents and materials with others.

 

 

Movie Theater

A Movie Theater is available for users to listen to music or watch movies. The room accommodates 6 people at a time and the archive includes movies, documentaries on various subjects, classical and folk music.

Information Screens

An information screen informs users about the library in addition to units, circulation rules and other activities.

National and International Memberships

Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS)

ANKOS consists of university libraries coming together voluntarily to share electronic sources of common interest. The aim of the consortium is to assure that university and research libraries can access a maximum number of resources at the most affordable prices, share electronic files, provide users maximum access to global information networks, and conduct collaborative studies to increase the support by university and research libraries.

LIBER: Representing research libraries at the European level, the general purpose of LIBER is to provide effective information services, increase access to archives, assist and support research libraries so that they can become functional institution and preserve European cultural heritage abroad.

IFLA: The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions is an international organization representing the interests of users, libraries and information services.