Atatürk and Libraries in Archival Records

Abstract

Turkish Republic has entered in a reformation period since the 29th October 1923; has become forming its own social, judicial, cultural, scientific and politic institutions. Among these social institutions, libraries have long background and history in Turkey. Libraries with other institutions of social order have been involved in reformation period directly after the declaration of the Republic. This period in the new structure of the Turkish Republic has been continued along with formal regulations set under the framework of The Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In this study, legislative works of first governments in the new Turkish Republic regarding libraries will be examined with records signed personally by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, between the years 1923 and 1938. Aim of this study in general to examine the point of view of government and / or political structure in this period with examples of archival records and official correspondences, to emphasize great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's assistances and suggestions related to these studies and to demonstrate how took place the libraries in reformation works in early republican period of Turkish Republic as a social institutions.