KÜTÜPHANELERDE TANITIM VE HALKLA İLİŞKİLERİN GÜCÜNE TARİHE AÇILAN BİR PENCEREDEN BAKIŞ: FİKİRLER DERGİSİNDE ÖZNE OLARAK İZMİR HALKEVİ KÜTÜPHANESİ
A LOOK AT THE POWER OF PROMOTION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS IN LIBRARIES THROUGH A WINDOW OPENING INTO HISTORY: IZMIR PEOPLE’S HOUSE LIBRARY AS A SUBJECT IN THE IDEAS MAGAZINE

Summary/Abstract: Libraries, whose identities are built upon their roles as social cultural institutions with social responsibilities, are institutions that can exist and gain value only through their users. This identity definition which is also a prerequisite for social recognition makes promotion, public relations, and even marketing an integral part of the functioning of libraries, despite the fact that they are public-service institutions that do not aim for profitability. The intensified competition brought about by globalization and technology especially information technology—which today transforms all sectors and disciplines, has turned public relations, marketing and promotion into a more important and prioritized integrated component for all organizations, including non-profit institutions such as libraries, in the information society. At the point reached today, institutional public relations and promotion have gone beyond being merely optional for 21st century libraries so that the increasingly enriched electronic environment and its allure do not undermine the institution and render it dysfunctional in the eyes of its users. Naturally, promotion and public relations, which are extremely important in terms of institutional visibility and social awareness, have been functional tools for libraries throughout history, and the successful use of these tools has, for some libraries, even become part of their identity. This study aims to examine, through the effect created by Fikirler magazine which served almost as the official public relations and promotional organ of the İzmir People’s House Library, one of the most distinguished examples of People’s House libraries in Turkey and an important milestone in the national librarianship climate of the Republican era the subject of public relations and promotion, which today forms an inseparable part of corporate identity for all types of libraries. Within the scope of the study, all issues of Fikirler magazine published from 19 February 1932 the official opening date of the İzmir People’s House and its library until 1951, when the decision to close People’s Houses nationwide was taken, were examined in detail. All articles written about the İzmir People’s House Library were analyzed in the context of promotion and public relations, and the service-based changes generated by these writings were revealed through elements such as the collection, users, and more. The findings show that the nearly twenty-year partnership between the İzmir People’s House Library and Fikirler magazine, and the magazine’s promotional and public relations activities directed toward the library, provided valuable contributions to the library from almost every perspective. This collaboration stands as a strong historical example of how a well structured and continuous promotion and public relations network can enhance the capabilities and competencies of all types of libraries. Although there are numerous studies in the national literature that examine Fikirler magazine from different perspectives and focus on promotion, public relations, and marketing in libraries, this study is unique in that it portrays Fikirler magazine and public relations and promotion in libraries within a different conceptual universe. To the extent that it enables a new perspective on promotion, marketing and public relations in libraries from today’s viewpoint, the study will have achieved its purpose.

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