Adnan Ötüken İl Halk Kütüphanesi

Ankara's first public library. It opened on 25 July 1922 in the ground-floor rooms of the Ministry of Education building under the name "Maarif Umumi Kütüphanesi"; after buildings in Ulus and Yenimahalle it settled in 1983 into its present home in Kızılay and in 1985 took the name of Adnan Ötüken, founder of the National Library. The building is the U-shaped structure the German architect Paul Bonatz designed in 1944-46 for the Saraçoğlu quarter, declared a first-degree urban conservation area in 1979. According to the official page it is Ankara's most visited public library, with more than 76,000 volumes and more than 136,000 active members; it has children's and youth sections, periodicals and event halls. Membership is open to all ages and free, registered with a document showing the Turkish ID number; for children under fifteen a parent opens the account through e-Devlet. A few minutes from the Kızılay metro and Ankaray stations.