Book launch for the Catalogue of Manuscripts in the IRCICA Library

The catalogue covering the 530 manuscripts under 284 titles that make up IRCICA’s collection of manuscripts was presented to the cultural audiences concerned at a book launch held at IRCICA on 26 December 2025. The newly published catalogue contains records of the manuscripts together with detailed research-based information on the works. The book launch, attended by interested parties from universities and research institutions and moderated by Dr. Attallah Rawashdeh, Assistant Head of IRCICA Research and Publications Department, heard the speeches of IRCICA Director General Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, the President of the Manuscripts Institution of Türkiye (TÜYEK) Mr. Coşkun Yılmaz, the ex-Secretary General of the OIC and ex-Drector General of IRCICA Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the compilers of the catalogue Mr. Veysel Bulut and Assoc. Dr. Emek Üşenmez. Director General Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç said that IRCICA’s manuscript collection contains rare treatises and various interesting works; the Centre is gradually making these accessible digitally, and 130 of those included in the catalog have already been made available. Prof. Kılıç stated that their aim is to make the collections as widely accessible as possible. In his address, TÜYEK President Mr. Coşkun Yılmaz emphasized that in order to access history accurately, sources must be brought to light, and that manuscripts are very important for the history of thought. He also spoke about the progress in TÜYEK’s activities and said that TÜYEK is in constant communication with IRCICA. Then, Mr. Veysel Bulut, Expert of Manuscripts and Bibliographies at IRCICA, gave detailed information about the structure and methodology of the catalogue, explaining that it was the result of patient, careful, and persistent reading. He explained that the works were recorded in terms of author, purpose, provenance, cultural and scientific importance, later copies, references, and uses, and that the catalog was constructed by directly interacting with the manuscripts, rereading each record and reflecting on it. Associate Professor Dr. Emek Üşenmez, a faculty member at Istanbul University’s School of Foreign Languages, evaluated the meaning and importance of IRCICA’s catalogue among sources on manuscripts, pointing out its noteworthy features such as containing information about new publications related to the manuscripts recorded. As to Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, who gave a speech at the meeting, he made a retrospective evaluation of the cataloguing and bibliography studies at IRCICA, giving examples from the first one published (1986) – the Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Köprülü Library in Istanbul, and said he believed the new catalog would be very useful for experts and researchers.