LIBRARY ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC HOUSES

Abstract

Public Houses operated between 1932-1951. These institutions which are important socio-cultural
institution that has marked to near-term history of Turkey were opened on 19th February 1932 and
reached a total number of 478 by the year they were shut down in 1951. Public Houses, which were
opened all over the country, tried to make people adopt the values of the republic through their
branches all over the country. One of them is the Library and Publication Branch. The branch has
two main areas of activity: library and publication. Trying to meet the reading needs of the society
with the library and reading rooms it opened, the branch also strived for the love of books. In this
way, many books, brochures and newspapers were published. Local cultural values recorded with
these published works have been transferred to future generations. Thus, while working for social
enlightenment with libraries, it also contributed to the formation of national culture. With all these
activities, the enlightenment process of the republic was tried to spread throughout the country. In
this study, the studies of the Library and Publication branches on librarianship are discussed.