History in storages comes to light at show

Hundreds of thousands of books, many paintings and photographs that had been abandoned to their fate in the storage of the National Library in Ankara came to light in 2013 with the order of Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik.

An exhibition opened on Feb. 5 in the gallery of the National Library, displaying items from these books, the collection of Turkish Houses (Türk Ocaklar?).

 "The collection of the Turkish Houses was seized after the Sept. 12, 1980 coup and abandoned to its fate. We are pleased that we once again have this collection of our national culture," said Çelik, who held the opening of the exhibition.

He said immediately after he took the post, he requested detailed reports on the storages of the National Library and found the abandoned Turkish House Collection. "Turkish Houses have served Turkish culture since its establishment in 1912. Its collection was transferred to the National Library in 1976. Works to bring these books to light began in 2013 when I took the post," he said.

The minister also noted that they had reorganized the National Library by opening new rooms and increased the capacity to serve 1,398 people at the same time.

He said that a digitalization team had been formed in the library and all rare works would be transferred to the digital environment in three years.