“Literature Museum Libraries” at the Junction of Cultural Heritage, Literature, Museum and Library Concepts

Abstract

This study relates to the literature museum libraries, which are exclusive to Turkey as a library model. One of the essential library applications in Turkey in recent years, literature museum libraries are authentic hybrid institutions. Library, museum, library museum house or museum library are not adequate concepts to define them. The literature museum library is a new library concept after synthesising these concepts. Since having been founded in 2011 by the Libraries and Publications Department of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, literature museum libraries are designed as to offer services to writers, critics, publishers, translators and literary NGOs in particular and the whole public in general; in a fashion to provide a new concept to the society with different content and meaning than traditional libraries and museum librarianship. Literature museum libraries are cultural places where works of local writers and poets, who communed with the region after being born or living for long years there, are exhibited alongside the objects of the writers and the works written about these writers and poets, in addition to books and manuscripts that are suitable for museum librarianship. Students, researchers, and literature lovers are chosen as the fundamental user group, and the presentations and services are designed according to this group. In their collections, there are art and literature works, which are contemporary and aesthetic, as well. Reflecting their cities’ written and oral literary culture and cultural heritage where there are educational, cultural, and artistic events in this regard, literature museum libraries are spaces flourishing the city’s literary and aesthetic culture. Literature museum libraries perform various missions in regard to preserving, sustaining, exhibiting the cultural heritage and bringing it into the public’s service. This study probes library, museum, literary museum home and museum library concepts first before evaluating the literary museum in Turkey in general. The study also includes various examples from the services and events of the seven literature museum libraries in Turkey.