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Visitors throng unique library in Turkey

Anadolu Agency LIFE
Published March 26,2018
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A library in northern Karabük 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 Karabük University (KBÜ) with support from Kamil Güleç, a Turkish philanthropist, provides access to 60,000 books in print and six million digital publications.

Kamil Güleç Library is equipped with cutting-edge technology, said Özcan Büyükgenç, 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, Büyükgenç 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 Çakan, an automative engineering student.

"We like the study area," said Fadime Kaplan, a child development student.

Muhammet Furkan Türkmen, 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.