The temperature is rising, flowers are blossoming and reading your book outside under the beautiful sunshine is more tempting! In this beautiful atmosphere of May, classes are continuing, and the library is here to support you. Check out our May newsletter to find out the Library’s new services and resource opportunities!

This month is another active month for the Library. For the third time the Library is organizing the International Library Staff Week (May 9-13). During this week, the Library will host 23 international colleagues from 12 different countries! The theme of the week is Constructing the Future: Innovation, Partnership, Sustainability. The event will bring together professional Library staff with varied backgrounds working in universities or other research orientated libraries and will allow an interest in sharing ideas and networking with colleagues.

Library Researcher Development Webinar Series are starting!

In the previous newsletters we mentioned our busy schedule with ACWR Library Sessions. As of 25th of April we completed 61 sessions in which more than 800 students participated.

With the completion of ACWR Library Sessions, the Library Researcher Development Webinar Series has started! To support researchers of KU Community we have planned sessions related to Literature Searching, Qualtrics, Reference Management Tools (Endnote & Zotero), Academic Integrity (Turnitin & iThenticate), Primary Source Databases, Open Access Publishing (Read & Publish Agreements) and Writing a Good Thesis Proposal.

Please check our Instructions & Events Calendar for more information and registration.

Note that you can always check the Library Video Hub for previously recorded webinars.

Scholars Studio Talks

The Library is pleased to announce its new project, Scholar Studio Talks, to support the graduate students’ research. Scholar Studio Talks is designed for master’s and doctoral students to present their research in a short time (5-10 minutes) and disseminate their research findings with the members of KU community. Students are expected to present their research topic in a catchy way, utilizing a jargon-free presentation language.

This project will help our graduate students sharpen their virtual presentation skills, gain experience in communicating with a non-specialist audience, and establish academic networks within the campus community and beyond!

Access Publishing Agreement for American Chemical Society (ACS) Journals

With the recent Open Access publishing agreement, authors affiliated with the Koç University can publish Open Access without any additional charges in American Chemical Society (ACS) journals! The article processing charges (APCs) are covered by an agreement between the publisher and Koç University. The agreement covers publication in all ACS journals, including ACS Omega, JACS Au, ACS Au collection, and all ACS hybrid journals. The agreement does not include publishing eBooks or articles that are additions, corrections, or editorials. For more details of the agreement click here.

Treasure Gallery Series - 5: Holding on to the Future: Protecting Cultural Heritage

The 5th theme of Koç University Libraries Treasure Series “Holding on to the Future: Protecting Cultural Heritage” continued through April with a talk and social media posts based on the selected sources from Libraries’ collections. The first talk of the theme was organized on 21st April, 2022 with the participation of Barış Altan (as the moderator) and Mesut Dinler (as the speaker). Parallel to April’s sub-theme “architectural-cultural heritage”, the talk focused on the relationship between sustainability and architectural heritage preservation. The video recording of the talk will be on library’s Youtube account.

The events of the theme will continue through May focusing on the preservation and protection of museum objects. The 5th theme of the Koç University Libraries Treasure Series aims to raise public awareness about the protection of cultural heritage assets (including architecture, art & museum objects and archival documents) through various activities, including podcasts, panels, workshops, and social media posts. Follow and keep an eye on our social media accounts not to miss any of these exciting activities.

Virtual Book Club

Virtual Book Club continues this May its discussions with the booklovers of KU Community with the book entitled Bir Deliler Evinin Yalan Yanlış Anlatılan Kısa Tarihi written by Ayfer Tunç. A literary panorama of Turkey that defies boundaries spatial or temporal: one end in the 19th century, and the other in the 21st. A book of human landscapes that startles anew with a completely unexpected turn of events, immediately after deceiving the reader into thinking the end of a plot line might be in sight. Enjoy reading this book and come to discuss your thoughts in the next Book Club, on May 12, at 19:00. This event will be held in Turkish. Registration Link - Books List for 2022.

SKL Podcast

In this month’s Suna Kıraç Library “İstanbul'u Dinliyorum” Podcast, we hosted Ceren Abi in a discussion entitled “Birinci Dünya Savaşı ve İşgal Döneminde İstanbul'da Arkeoloji Çalışmaları”. We talked about the works carried out in the field of archaeology and cultural heritage in Istanbul during the World War I and the armistice period (1918-1923). We discussed the excavations carried out by the French Army, the steps taken by the Empire to protect the cultural heritage in the city, and the activities of foreign archaeology institutes. You may listen to this podcast to learn more about the darkest periods of Istanbul, the periods of war and occupation, and how the excavations were carried out, and how the cultural heritage of the city was preserved despite all the difficult conditions. To listen to this podcast click here.

ANAMED Library Talks

ANAMED Library talks organized by the ANAMED Library continues in May with Pınar Üre and Ceren Abi. The talk is entitled Bizans’ı Yeniden Keşfetmek: Rusya, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu ve 19. Yüzyılda Arkeolojinin Siyaseti. This month's talk will be in Turkish and will take place online.

The 58th Library Week: Panel Discussion on Sustainability

In the context of the 58th Library Week, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) President Barbara Lison was in Istanbul. A panel discussion was held with Barbara Lison and Tuba Akbaytürk Çanak, Koç University Libraries’ Director. In this panel, the critical role of libraries and sustainability in regards of environmental, economic and social issues were discussed. In the afternoon, Barbara Lison met with a group of Turkish Librarians at ANAMED Library for a round table discussion. To watch this insightful panel on the future of libraries click here.

58th Library Week: “Career Fair 2022” Blog Post

Academic Engagement Librarian Burak Başaranlar shared his reflections on the “Career Fair 2022” organized last week by Suna Kıraç Library in his recent blog post. In this post he discusses how this career fair can inform academia in developing ties between the students and the faculty beyond research. Enjoy reading this article that would make you question conferences and the audience centered career fair!

The Library Supported Students in the Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Training Program

As part of the EU-Turkey Anatolian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Project run by the Turkish Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Institute, a support training event for doctoral students entitled “Embracing the Past: Training in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage VII” was held in Gaziantep on 18-24 April 2022. Students participating the program were given a Library and Archive Practice session. The session started by Tuba Akbaytürk Çanak, Library Director’s short address on Zoom. In this sessions presentation entitled “Literature Search and Information Resources” and “Things to Know in the Research Publication Process, Measuring the Impact of Research and Creating Researcher Profiles” were given by Remziye Boyraz, Head of AKMED Library, and by Çiğdem Yıldırım, Head of ANAMED Library respectively.

Twitter and Scholarly Communication

After the pandemic started in 2020, researchers started to use social media more to discuss new findings, connect with fellow academics and expose inaccurate papers. In this article on Science, Jeffrey Brainbard explores how Twitter has impacted scholarly communication and false information, and what (if any) effects this newfound fame can have on academic careers. At the very end, there’s a few tips for all the #Twitter novices out there. Click here to access the full article.

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