The library of the Greek literary association of Constantinople (1863-1922)

The intellectual bloom of the Greek population of Asia Minor, whichwas observed from the middle of the 19th century onward, was expressedby the establishment of a great number of cultural associations. The mostimportant of these was the «Greek Literary Association of Constantinople» (Syllogos), which played a primary role in the effort to strengthenthe Greek language in Asia Minor.The present study examines the creation and operation of the publiclibrary of the Association, which was founded in 1863 and constitutedone of the main activities of the Syllogos and one of the major instrumentsfor the promotion of its cultural projects. The library’s historyand mode of operation reflected the strengths and the weaknesses of Syllogos.The library was destroyed by fire in 1870 but soon it was recreated.Its further development was based mainly on a great number ofdonations of books by members of the Association and other individuals.Another major source for the enrichment of the library were exchangeswith some of the most significant scientific institutions of Europe andAmerica of the time. Over the years the library’s holdings grew to 27.000volumes of printed books. The collection included 183 Greek manuscriptsas well. Many of the second copies of books available in the library weresent to the libraries of Greek schools and the local associations in AsiaMinor.The defeat of the Greek army in Asia Minor brought the end of Syllogos.The contents of the library were transferred to Ankara and dispersedto a number of Turkish scholarly institutions. The most important partwent to the «Turkish Historical Association» (Turk Tarili Kurumy)