Director of Eastern Mediterranean University Özay Oral Library Osman Soykan stated that the 51st Library Week will be celebrated in Turkey and the TRNC between 30 March and 5 April 2015. Soykan added that with the aim of stressing the importance of books, reading and the libraries for the society, Turkey officially started celebrating the library week in 1964 and the TRNC in 1996.
Soykan put forth that information is an important value indispensable to our age. Societies which adopt information, and science as their guide continuously develop in the fields of science and technology and this development is positively reflected in the level of their intellectual life as well as economic welfare. Soykan stated that the libraries in the current era are no longer the places accummulating and keeping information by benefitting from internet technologies. According to Soykan, libraries are now the information portals enabling researchers’ access to new information resources. Adding that university libraries concentrate on improving the access of the users to information as well as the organisation of information rather than physically owning information, Soykan stated that in this respect interlibrary collaborations enabling academicians and researchers to reach information without boundaries have gained considerable importance. The new mission of the 21st century university library according to Soykan is acting as a guide in bringing together the academics, researchers and students with information in all formats.
Soykan added that like all the other libraries, the ‘51st Library Week’ is a special week for EMU Özay Oral Library, which boasts the widest academic collection within the region as well as numerous memberships in international consortiums.
With its special contributions to the fullfillment of our university’s educational mission, our library boasts around 160,000 books, about 10,000 periodical memberships and around 100,000 e-books. With its high level information services and rich collections, Özay Oral library has been providing services in line with Eastern Mediterranean University’s modern, innovative and student-centered educational philosophy.