In photos: Turkey’s bookshelf-shaped library, an architectural marvel
One of the most striking features of Turkey's Karabuk province is a library that looks like a row of gigantic books lined up on a shelf.
A general view of Kamil Gulec Library, which is built along the lines of a library in Kansas, the US.
Turkish philanthropist Kamil Gulec supported a project that paved the way for a huge book-shaped library in Turkey’s Karabuk province.
Inspired by the Kansas City Public Library in the US, the building has changed the landscape of the neighbourhood and has become one of its main tourist attractions. It also provides access to at least 190 university libraries in the country.
Here are some photos of the library:
A general view of Kamil Gulec Library, which is built along the lines of a library in Kansas, the US.
The library at the Karabuk University (KBU) campus was built with the support of Turkish philanthropist Kamil Gulec and it's been named after him.
As the pandemic confined students to their homes, 500,000 people downloaded resources from the library in 2020.
A total of 116, 943 users benefited from the library in which students can borrow and return books at kiosks equipped with self-check systems, as well as being able to use mobile phones as scannable devices via a pocket library service.
Returned books are sterilised and are only then placed back on the shelves.
Refik Polat, the rector of the Karabuk University, told Anadolu Agency that the library has a unique exterior design in Turkey and creates an identity for the school.
"We have nearly 60,000 printed books in our library. The world is now oriented toward electronic books and magazines. We have more than 20,000 e-books and nearly 40,000 e-magazines. Our library is widely used," Polat said.
The library also has 6 million works including articles, theses and other resources, noted Polat.
"We are trying to bring the whole system to a level where it can run with artificial intelligence," he said, adding that library officials want to make it functional even if nobody is present.
Kamil Gulec Library, which commands attention through its striking architecture that manifests itself in the form of a giant bookshelf, has managed to host readers mainly in electronic form while the world battles through the Covid-19 pandemic.
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