The ANAMED Library team—Nathalie Defne Gier, İrem Ünal, and Vasiliki Mole—might not have been present in the ANAMED Library physically for the past three (or more) months, but let there be no doubt that they have been working from home on different tasks and getting ready to welcome all back to ANAMED’s beautiful library. 

 

We Are Expanding Our Presence on Social Media 

 

 

Follow us now on Instagram! 

 

Since it was created in April, numerous posts have been shared on the account under a wide variety of categories, such as New Arrivals, News from the Library, and Digital Collections, and it reached five hundred followers in its first month!

 

In Digital Technology We Trust!  

 

How did utilizing technology help the ANAMED Library continue our services to offer the best support to researchers and to reach out to our network during the pandemic? Good question! 

 

 

ANAMED Library Talks with a Twist!  

 

 

Extreme circumstances call for adaptation and flexibility, so our well–established monthly ANAMED “Library Talks” were adjusted to the current circumstances. The April, May, and June talks were held remotely. Benefitting from technology, we provided the talks via Zoom, and they were the first online events to be held of all KU Libraries. 

 

 

The online events each lasted for about two and a half hours, attended by a diverse audience from different parts of Türkiye and from abroad. 

 

On 14 April, Prof. Oğuz Tekin, director of AKMED, talked about the presence and importance of the Agora and coins in the Hellenistic period. The talk was moderated by Prof. Aliye-Erol Özdizbay from Istanbul University. On 5 May, Can Nacar, a professor from KU’s History Department, presented his research on tobacco manufacturing between 1872 and 1912. The talk was moderated by KU post-doctoral researcher Akın Sefer. On 2 June, Prof. Filiz Yenişehirlioğlu, director of VEKAM, engaged with the audience and moderator Prof. Billur Tekkok, from Başkent University, in a discussion about art, focusing on the Tekfur Palace excavations and museum studies. Recordings of all talks (in Turkish) can be found on ANAMED Library’s SoundCloud account and a list of previous talks on ANAMED Library’s website. 

 

 

ANAMED Library Webinars 

 

The ANAMED Library convenes and supports research events and training activities throughout the year. Over the last four months we supported ANAMED fellows with a series of webinars that were aimed at contributing to the development of research skills. Our webinars were part of a series of remotely organized events under the “Library Researcher Development Webinar Series” held by the KU Libraries staff. 

 

 

Hit PLAY and Listen: Our Podcasts Series Is Here! 

 

 

The ANAMED Library initiated the “ANAMED Library Podcast: Burada Konuşmak Serbest,” which intends to bring librarians, archivists, and users together to discuss a variety of topics concerning the profession, research, and curiosities. The aim of the ANAMED Library Podcast is to share developments, projects, and innovations in the library and archives sector with a larger audience. The podcast is open to anyone interested in libraries, archives, and research. Follow us on Spotify. 

 

We Know How to Organize and Host a Conference. Come Join Us! 

 

 

 

KU Libraries organized an  online-conference  on 9 June 2020, to coincide with the International Archives Week, titled  “Digital Transformations: Analyzing Archives from Multiple Aspects.” The event was held through Zoom, brought  together people from different professions, and introduced the various perspectives that the digitalization of archives  encompasses. The  three  sessions  covered  the  roles of education, donation and archival practice, and users and legal aspects in digital transformation. Distinguished speakers joined the event from the US, the UK, and Türkiye, sharing their perspectives on the  archives  world. 

 

 

The  conference’s  video  recording can be found on  Koç  University  Suna  Kıraç  Library’s  Youtube channel  and  the voice recording on ANAMED Library’s  SoundCloud account. 

 

 

 

 

Polishing Our Presence and Expanding Our Collection 

 

ANAMED Library Website Content and Membership Procedure Update  

 

Following the renewed external membership policy and online application system instituted in 2018, the library team reviewed, reevaluated, and updated all ANAMED Library website content. Internal procedures (e.g., files, data, everyday tasks) were also updated. 

 

 

Collection Development 

 

ANAMED Library staff is consistently adding new publications to enhance both print and electronic collections. In addition, we collect and evaluate all suggestions made by library members. New requests were placed in a recent book tender in June 2020. 

 

 

 

 

Being Active in Our Field, Empowering Our Skills 

 

 

Lifelong learning is essential to all, and the ANAMED Library staff continues to participate actively in events that promote its work and improves skills. In this context, ANAMED Branch Librarian İrem Ünal prepared a poster entitled “Artificial Intelligence in Libraries: Research Coach Robots” for the ANKOS Link 2020 Conference. Although the in-person conference was canceled because of the COVID–19 outbreak, Ünal presented her work in an online poster presentation held on Friday, 21 May 2020 via GoToMeeting. 

 

Who Said the Library Is Only for Studying? We Can Be Great Hosts!  

 

 

On 25 February 2020, twenty directors of various Swedish Research Institutes visited ANAMED as part of an educational visit to Istanbul that toured several research centers.