İBB Atatürk Kitaplığı

A research library in Taksim run by the Library and Museums Directorate of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Its roots go back to the municipal library opened in 1924, and between 1939 and 1981 the collection was housed in the Bayezid II Madrasa in Beyazıt. The building, whose foundation was laid by the Koç Foundation in 1973, was handed over to the municipality in 1976 and opened on 3 March 1981. Designed by Sedad Hakkı Eldem and Hamdi Şensoy, the three-storey reinforced concrete building, with its central plan built from hexagons and hexagonal pyramid roofs, is an important example of Republican-era architecture. Its more than 500,000 items include Ottoman printed books, periodicals, manuscripts, maps and postcards. Membership is free with official ID.