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Time of transformation: Research, resources, and access at SALT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

Sezin Romi
Sezin Romi*
Affiliation:
Senior Librarian and Archivist SALT Bankalar Caddesi 11 Karaköy 34421 Istanbul Turkey Email: sezin.romi@saltonline.org
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Abstract

This article evaluates the transformation of a library in a small contemporary art institution into a large-scale organization, providing the essential infrastructure for research in Istanbul, Turkey, from 2001 onwards. It explains how Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center's (2001-2010) library and archive collection were established and became part of SALT Research with other cultural entities in 2011. Focusing on the motivations behind SALT's founding, the article discusses the formation of SALT Research, which comprises a library, archive and learning platform. It presents the changing positions of the institution regarding developing library tools, user needs, and the pandemic.

Type
Research Article
Information
Art Libraries Journal , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 32 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of ARLIS

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References

1. Platform was located in the current SALT Beyoğlu building on İstiklal Street which is a pedestrian avenue in the city center. Platform's archive of documents, images from the exhibitions and public programs are available online at SALT Research (https://saltresearch.org).

2. November Paynter, “Ten Years Before and Ten Years After: Art Institutions In Turkey”, User's Manual 2.0: Contemporary Art in Turkey 1975–2015, ed. Halil Altındere and Süreyyya Evren (Berlin, Istanbul : Revolver Verlag, art-ist, 2015) p. 232.

3. Vasıf Kortun, e-mail message to author, January 2022.

4. Vasıf Kortun, e-mail message to author, January 2022.

5. These institutions were Platform, Garanti Gallery and Ottoman Bank Archives and Research Center. Garanti Gallery (2003–2010) was a cultural institution in Istanbul specializing in urbanism, architecture and design. Founded in March 1997 by the Ottoman Bank in collaboration with the History Foundation, Ottoman Bank Archives and Research Centre was located in the current SALT Galata building in Istanbul between 1999–2010. The institution organized exhibitions, conferences, and events; and maintained a library and archive on the economic, political, social, and urban history of the Turkish Republic and the Ottoman Empire.

6. SALT is a not-for-profit cultural institution in public service, engaging in research, exhibitions, publications, web projects, conferences, and other public programs in Turkey. SALT's programs are distributed at SALT Galata and SALT Beyoğlu buildings in Istanbul. The institution works in the intersections of different disciplines such as visual practices, the built environment, social life, and economic history.

7. The former headquarters of the Ottoman Bank.

8. David Weinberger, “Library as Platform”, Library Journal, January 4, 2012, https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/by-david-weinberger.

9. ŞANALarc received the AIA Continental Europe Interior Design Award with their design for SALT Research in 2016.

10. IFLA/Unesco Public Library Manifesto, accessed February 15, 2022, https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/public-libraries/publications/PL-manifesto/pl-manifesto-en.pdf.