Visitors throng unique library in Turkey

By Ersin Turan

KARABUK, Turkey (AA) – A library in northern Karabuk province has caught the attention of people with its unique architecture.

The building bears semblance to a bookshelf, with books stacked alongside each other.

The architecture emulates the Kansas City Public Library in the U.S.

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

Kamil Gulec Library is equipped with cutting-edge technology, said Ozcan Buyukgenc, head of the library documentation department at the university.

Students can borrow and return books at kiosks equipped with self-check systems.

He added that through an interlibrary system, students can 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," he added.

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

He said 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.

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

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.