Readings on İsmail Erünsal's Corpus I (3.1.2023-6.23.2023)
The first of the reading groups organized by the FSM Center for Manuscript Studies for graduate researchers was completed in 11 weeks in 2021 under the title "Book Culture Readings I" and the second in 15 weeks in 2022-2023 under the title "Catalog Readings". The third of these reading groups was designed as a series covering İsmail Erünsal's works on books and librarianship. The first part of the program, which was presented under the title of "Readings on İsmail Erünsal's Corpus" and expected to be completed in two parts, started on March 1, 2023 and lasted 17 weeks.
In the first stage of the program, which took place in the Central Ihtisas Library of FSM Hagia Sophia Campus with 15 participants, Erünsal's two works titled "Orta Çağ İslam Dünyasında Kitap ve Kütüphane" and "Osmanlılarda Kütüphane ve Kütüphanecilik" were discussed.
His book "Ortaçağ İslam Dünyasında Kitap ve Kütüphane" consists of an introduction and three main chapters titled "Ortaçağ İslam Dünyasında Kitap [The Book in the Medieval Islamic World]", "Ortaçağ İslam Dünyasında Kütüphaneler [Libraries in the Medieval Islamic World]" and "Ortaçağ İslam Dünyasının Kitap Üreticileri ve Satıcıları [Book Producers and Sellers in the Medieval Islamic World]". In the first part, which constitutes the most voluminous part of the work, the status of the "Book" (narration-oral culture) in the pre-Islamic and post-Islamic periods , the materials that make up the physical structure of the book and its content features, as well as issues such as the transformation of the Qur'an into Mushaf, are revealed. Then, the critical edition of the text and the classification and reproduction of manuscripts according to their degree of reliability are emphasized.
In the second part of the work, the historical development of libraries is presented by focusing on the dynasties ruling in a certain geography. In addition, topics such as personnel, collections, buildings, internal arrangements, catalogs, utilization and lending procedures related to library organization are included. The third and final part of the work provides detailed information on book producers and sellers.
The second work of the first stage, "Osmanlılarda Kütüphane ve Kütüphanecilik", consists of a voluminous introduction, which can be considered a summary of the first work, and two main chapters titled "Osmanlı Vakıf Kütüphanelerinin Tarihi Gelişimi [Historical Development of Ottoman Waqf Libraries]" and "Vakıf Kütüphanelerinin Teşkilatı [Organization of Waqf Libraries]". In the first part, the transition from the libraries of the foundation period, mosque and madrasa libraries to independent libraries is conveyed in a historical flow. In this context, the libraries established at the end of the 16th century during the reigns of Fatih, Bayezid II, Selim I and Kanuni, and the Köprülü Library, libraries of Ahmed III, Mahmud I, Osman III, Mustafa III, Abdulhamid I, Selim III and Mahmud II, and the efforts made for the improvement of waqf libraries after Tanzimat are discussed.
In the second part of the work, the organization of foundation libraries is examined under headings such as personnel, collection, cataloging studies, utilization and budget-accounting. The issue of staffing, one of the most important elements of a waqf library, is also taken into consideration in this section. Issues such as the selection and appointment, dismissal, salaries, waqf administrators, library staff (hāfiẓ al-kutub, his apprentice [yamaq], scribe of the book [kātib al-kutub], bookbinder, janitor [bevvāb], ferrāsh, etc.) are discussed in the chapter. In addition, the establishment, enrichment, characteristics, counting and control of library collections were also discussed in detail. In the last week of the program, the conclusion-appendices-bibliography and index sections of the work were examined in detail.
In the second stage of the program, which is interactive with the discussions of the participants, other works in the Erünsal corpus will be read and discussed.
Author: Zeynep Kurt
