Author(s): Gamze ATAY,Nur YILMAZ
Libraries are the places, where science and knowledge are transferred to the next generations. In this sense, libraries play an important role in the constitution of the cultural, historical and spatial memory of society. The use of the traditional library has remained in the background in the historical process because of the developing technology and changing living conditions, and library buildings have been in a spatial and fictional change over time. However, the necessity and basic function of these spaces for scientific progress have not changed. According to statistics published in recent years, it is determined that the number of libraries closed up in Turkey is increasing and the rate of library use is decreasing. For this reason, different designs, concepts or functions have been sought in libraries in order to draw people's attention to libraries. “Libraries on Duty” arisen in Adana as the presentative and first example of this approach in Turkey constitute the main topic of the study. “Libraries on Duty”, unlike traditional libraries, have a minimal scale and a more flexible form in use. The “Library-on-Duty” phenomenon has given a new meaning to the image of the traditional library with its multifunctional form that hosts social, cultural and artistic events and aimed at addressing to a wider user population with flexible visiting hours. The purpose of the study is to perform semantical and pragmatical readings of the space of library-on-duty within the scope of the hypothesis of semiology and to observe the change revealed in comparison with traditional library buildings. Accordingly, the spatial readings of three libraries on duty in Adana were performed. Besides, the functions of the libraries on duty have been presented and analyzed in the semantical dimension through interviews made with users, and in the pragmatical dimension through internal spatial organizations and plan analyzes. As a result; architectural spaces which are considered to be a language that conveys meanings, communicate with their users. Within the scope of the study, in the light of the data obtained from the users of libraries on duty and the spatial analyzes made; it has been observed that this new social and multifunctional formation encourages the use of libraries. Accordingly, the increase of spatial formations that will encourage people to use libraries has been aimed through the example of libraries on duty developed as an alternative to traditional library buildings.
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