Rami Library’s new cultural stop: Biography Collection

ISTANBUL

The Biography Collection, housed within the Rami Library — formerly a historic military barracks now transformed into a modern library — offers nearly 6,000 books for the enjoyment of writers, researchers and book lovers.

Preparations for Türkiye’s first biography-focused library began last October with the signing of a protocol, and the collection was realized by Rami Library and the Ibn'ül-Emin Mahmut Kemal İnal Foundation’s Biography Institute.

Speaking about the biographical studies in Türkiye, Dr. Rıdvan Kaşıkçı said, "In terms of academic work, there has been a noticeable upward trend in recent years in Türkiye. Especially in departments of history, literature and sociology, we see some excellent master’s and doctoral theses written on biographical subjects. Many of these are gradually being published as printed books.”

"In earlier periods, history writing in Türkiye was mostly focused on the state, but toward the late Ottoman period and early Republican era, we began to see a significant increase in biography writing. And since then, we have observed a growing modern interest in the field,” he added.

Kaşıkçı noted that there are many distinguished scholars who contributed to academic biography writing in Türkiye and that the lives of important figures from the late Ottoman and early Republican periods, such as statesmen, authors and poets, have been extensively studied.

He noted that their goal was not limited to supplying books, saying, “Our intention here is also to create a cultural pool, an intellectual environment around biography,” he said. “As the Biography Institute, we are already running several initiatives. We have seminars titled ‘How I Wrote It,’ short video documentaries on the life of Ibn'ül-Emin Mahmut Kemal İnal, and biography writing workshops. Wea are also launching new projects like ‘Biografilm’ and ‘Untold Theses,’ in which we focus on evaluating and analyzing films related to biography.”

He also stated that future plans include biography symposiums, biography awards, public panels and short biographical films. The Biography Collection officially opened in April, and Kaşıkçı said that they plan to organize various programs and events for visitors who are interested in biography.

“Right now, we have about 6,000 books on the shelves. But our goal is to increase this number. If I’m not mistaken, the space here can accommodate up to 10,000 books. Besides what’s on display, there are also many more biographical books stored in the archives and in other specialized library sections within the building,” he stated.