Bilkent Library marked its 40th anniversary and the 62nd Library Week with a series of events.
The centerpiece of the celebrations was the symposium “Shaping Knowledge Together,” on April 1, at the Library Art Gallery, taking place alongside a retrospective photography exhibition.
The symposium opened with a keynote by Dr. Ebru Kaya, director of the Library. The first session, titled “Library Intersections,” featured Duygu Kevser Karadağ (VEKAM Library), Ziya Kutluoğlu (TBMM Library) and Naile Mağıltaş (Bilkent Library). Bringing together librarians from different types of libraries, the session provided a platform for participants to share experiences from their institutions and exchange ideas about common challenges and potential solutions. The discussion also highlighted the importance of inter-institutional collaboration in librarianship.
Following the first session, “Bring Your Book, Let’s Read Together!” activities took place simultaneously across the Main and East Campuses. The university community and students from İDV Bilkent Schools participated enthusiasticly in this collective reading hour, highlighting a shared commitment to fostering a lifelong reading culture.
The official opening of the photography exhibition “40 Years of the Bilkent University Library,” followed the collective reading activity. During the ceremony, Rector Prof. Kürşat Aydoğan emphasized the library’s indispensable role as the academic heart of the university. The exhibition offered a visual narrative of the library’s historical trajectory from its founding to the present day.
Following the exhibition opening, the program transitioned into the symposium’s second session, “From Data to Impact: New Power Fields in Librarianship,” with the continued participation of Rector Prof. Kürşat Aydoğan. This session featured Mehmet Mirat Satoğlu, director of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM, Prof. Umut Al from Hacettepe University and Dr. Korcan Doğan from Ankara University. The speakers shared their insights on the transformation of data, the role of impact in the research ecosystem and the future transformation of librarianship. Over 100 participants from academia and the professional sector attended the symposium.
The scholarly discourse continued on April 3, at the Goethe Institute during the closing panel organized by the Turkish Librarians Association. Prof. Selim Aksoy of the Department of Computer Engineering delivered an insightful presentation on “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Academic Knowledge Production,” detailing the technical shifts in knowledge synthesis. Following this, Dr. Ebru Kaya presented “The Future of Libraries: AI Integration and Professional Transformation,” exploring how AI is redefining the professional landscape and the strategic necessity of technological integration in modern libraries.
The 40th-anniversary celebrations will continue with a special panel scheduled for April 14, further exploring the library’s enduring legacy and future directions. The latest updates and highlights are available on the library’s website and social media accounts.
