Suna Kıraç Library is continuing to be a hub for international librarians! In May, Suna Kıraç Library organized the 4th International Library Staff Week (ILSW)! We hosted 25 professional Library staff from 19 different institutions and 13 different countries. The theme of this year was “Open Knowledge to Share: Access, Culture, Scholarship”. During this week, we shared professional and personal experiences, broadened horizons on open knowledge, visited museum, libraries and archives and completed once again a fun and successful week!

Here is a lovely comment from our participant Monna Rizvi from Middlesex University Library, UK:

It was a great honour and privilege to be a guest of Koç University and attend the 4th International Library Staff Week as part of the Erasmus Scheme, particularly poignant as sadly this was the last cohort of attendees from the UK. The Koç University campus and the Suna Kıraç Library particularly, were a delight to explore with its impressive collections, facilities, study spaces and beautiful natural surroundings. The warm welcome reflected the commitment and dedication of the local library staff and the role they play in the university and the wider community. Regular podcasts and a children’s library were just two examples of their outward vision. Visits to the Sadberk Hanım Museum, ANAMED centre, Rami Public Library and Ottoman Archives amongst others, demonstrated the commitment to preserve and share Turkish heritage and the important role that many Archivists and Curators play as part of the benevolent Koç Foundation. Definitely a memorable visit and one that will be treasured forever.

Book Swap Every Tuesday in June

Starting last April, to support equality and quality in education, to draw attention to consumption habits and to create a more sustainable and green future, SKL started Book Swaps. In June our Book Swap stand will be available every Tuesdays between 13.00 - 16.00 at the entrance of the Library. Bring your books and let’s swap! #SKLBookSwap

Textbook Swap

Suna Kıraç Library is also planning to start Textbook Swaps. Textbooks that are in good condition and no longer needed will be collected until Fall 2023. You may bring your textbooks to the Information Desk in the library. The first Textbook Swap will be initiated in October 2023. #SKLBookSwap

Summer Loan Rules

The due dates for borrowed books have been updated. The return date of borrowed books is October 2, 2023 - the beginning of the 2023 - 2024 Fall Semester.

OpenAthens: Remote Access to Library Resources

As the summer holiday is just around the corner we would like to remind you about OpenAthens: Remote Access to Library Resources! OpenAthens allows you to use your KU Net login credentials to access the Library's electronic resources when you are at off campus and provides a less confusing and time-saving option for users to access e-resources with just one login.To access Library's electronic resources, you can visit A to Z Databases page or use institutional login options directly from databases websites.If you have a question, please visit OpenAthens libguide from here or contact us at liberesources@ku.edu.tr.

The 8th Treasures Series: 100th Anniversary of the Republic

After 4 months of work on the Journey of Higher Education on the 100th Anniversary of the Republic, the 8th theme of the Treasures Series is now completed. Within the scope of this theme, we held a conference, created a digital exhibition, shared resources and posted on various platforms including social media. In addition to all these activities, lastly we also held the “WikiMarathon: Republican Period Librarianship Training” event on Wednesday, May 3. With this event, we entered content to Wikipedia about the first librarians of the Republican era. As part of this event, we gathered 14 Information and Records Management Department students from Istanbul. We completed our event with a library tour, where we learned how to enter content on Wikipedia and what to pay attention to when entering content on Wikipedia. You may visit our LibGuide to learn more details our theme and access the work done and follow us on our social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook).

The 9th Treasures Series: Byzantine Studies in Republican Turkey

The 9th theme of Treasures Series, Byzantine Studies in Republican Turkey continues with Bibliopera library tour! As part of the theme we are visiting Bibliopera Libraries that have collections on Byzantine history.

Fill this form and join our tour on June 21, at 9 AM!

Suna Kıraç Library Mindfulness Events

Yoga Techniques Workshop: In this event, where you will experience basic yoga movements, we help you to relax your body, soul, and improve your mind with yoga techniques that will help you cope with stress, develop a better posture, increase your flexibility, strengthen your muscles, and breathe properly.

Date & Time & Place: 7th of June 2023, between 12:00 - 13:00, SKL Second Floor Seminar Room

Registration link: https://ku.libcal.com/calendar/instructions/yogateknik

*All events will be held in Turkish.
*Participants must bring their own Pilates mat.

SKL Book Club

June’s book is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It is a great historical novel, set against the violent upheaval of the French Revolution. The most famous and perhaps the most popular of his works, it compresses an event of immense complexity to the scale of a family history, with a cast of characters that includes a bloodthirsty ogress and an antihero as believably flawed as any in modern fiction.

If you want to learn about this famous book, join us at SKL First Floor Meeting Room or via zoom on June 15 at 12:30.

Moderator: Kamela Dokaj
Registration Link: https://ku.libcal.com/event/3959478.

SKL Podcast

At the Suna Kıraç Library "İstanbul'u Dinliyorum" Podcast, this month we hosted Sinem Erdoğan İşkorkutan for a discussion entitled “1720 Sur-ı Hümayunu”. We talked about the 1720 Sur-ı Hümayun, organized by Ahmed III on the occasion of circumcision of four princes in 1720. Considering its duration, grandeur, and budget, we discussed about how this entertainment, which is one of the most famous and magnificent celebrations in Ottoman history, is the last of its kind, and how it was planned, staged, and represented by the Ottoman palace. We mentioned the details of this precious Sur-ı Hümayun, where Istanbul residents were hosted, brought to life in the paintings of Levni and İbrahim, bringing the Istanbul of the 18th century together with us, and providing a lot of information about the socio-cultural history of the city in this period.

If you want to learn more about Ottoman Cultural life in 18th century, you may listen to our podcast and access our other podcast episodes from the Suna Kıraç Library Spotify Account and Apple Podcast.

ANAMED Library Talks

ANAMED Library Talks continue with Daniel Gomes on June 15. The talk entitled “The Past Web: Exploring Web Archives” will be held online and in English.

For registration the talk please click on the link.

Date & Time: 15 June 2023, 18:00

ANAMED Library Podcast

In this month’s ANAMED Library Podcast: Burada Konuşmak Serbest we hosted Zeynep Taşkın, the coordinator of Hrant Dink Foundation. In this podcast we discussed Hrant Dink Foundation’s Archives and their archive related projects.

To listen to this valuable episode click here.

Koç University’s Law School students met with Wikipedia!

In May, Wikipedia contributors met Koç University’s Law School students currently enrolled in LAW 340 - European Union Economic Law course. The workshop started with a brief introductory training by Wikipedia contributors, who talked about the importance of developing Wikipedia content, especially in different languages and in different topics.

Wikipedia contributors, Başak Tosun and Zafer Batık assisted students in editing Wikipedia articles by using their knowledge acquired in the course. Students from Romania, Italy, Germany, England, Turkey contributed Wikipedia in different languages and also, they translated some articles in their languages in Wikipedia.

This workshops also helped Koç University students to improve their digital literacy on the largest open education resource, Wikipedia, produce high-quality Wikipedia articles referencing reliable sources. Lastly, we would like to express our gratitude to Assistant Professor Zeynep Ayata and Wikipedia contributors, Başak Tosun and Zafer Batık for their contribution and support. We will also organize new Wikipedia workshops next semester. Stay tuned!

Provincial Health Directorate Internship Protocol & Suna Kıraç Library Program

On May 4-5, Suna Kıraç Library prepared a two-day program within the scope of the Internship Protocol, signed between the Provincial Health Directorate and Koç University. In this program, İlknur Erkin, Branch Librarian at Health Sciences Library, introduced foundational information about information literacy, research process, and search strategies. The Head of Health Sciences Library, Ertaç Nebioğlu, shared some strategies and reliable sources specific to health sciences and introduced Journal Selection Criteria session in Health Sciences.

Another session was given by Mehmet Zeki Giritli on "Scientific Article Writing Techniques" session. Lastly, Reference & Scholarly Communication Librarian Ersan Dur shared his knowledge on Open Access, Predatory Publishing, Academic Ethics, and Plagiarism. Nurses, lawyers, doctors from various departments, and various health personnel participated in the program, which was held with the participation of approximately 120 people daily.

Congratulations to all for the completion of the program!

Web of Science Journal Metrics Now Integrated in ProQuest Platform

Insights from Web of Science are being integrated into ProQuest Platform, offering ProQuest users key metrics to help inform their research journey at their point of need. These enhancements connect features of the Web of Science and ProQuest platforms across publication titles, documents and authors.

For more details please click here.

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