The General Directorate of the State Archives, is one of the main service units of the Prime Ministry and consists of three Directorate's:

• The Directorate of Republican Archives in Ankara.
• The Directorate of Documentation in Ankara.
• The Directorate of Ottoman Archives is in Istanbul.

Working Hours of the General Directorate

Ankara: Monday to Friday 9.0018.00; Reading Rooms: 9.30 to 17.00
Istanbul: Monday to Friday 8.30-17.30; Reading Rooms: 9.00 to 17.00
Both are closed on official holidays

The Directorate of Ottoman Archives

The most valuable archival material, inherited from the Ottoman State, is in the Directorate of Ottoman Archives of the General Directorate of the State Archives of the Prime Ministry. The Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry includes the registers, registration books and records of the Divan-i Hümayun (The Imperial Chancery of State under the direction of the head of the goverment chancery office), the Bab-i Defteri (the offices of the Ministry of Finance), the Bab-i Asafi (Bab-i Ali) (the palace of the Grand Vizier) and their various departments, being all departments of the central organization of the Ottoman State.

The Hazine-i Evrak, (the treasury of records) being an institution for the preservation of official state records, was established in 1846 as the archive of the Ottoman Prime Ministry or the Bab-i Ali.

The places where archives of the state were preserved were scattered around in different neighbourhoods as a result of which official procedures proceeded with great difficulty. According to an order of Sultan Abdülmecid in 1846, the construction of a modern archival building started and in 1849 the first modern building for the Hazine-i Evrak was finished.

In 1923, after the abolishment of the Ottoman State, the Hazine-i Evrak was reorganized and renamed "Mahzen-i Evrak Mümeyyizligi" under the Prime Ministry's Office of the Private Secretariat. The last director of the Hazine-i Evrak during Ottoman reign was Mahmud Nedim Bey who was appointed the head of this new organization. All the archives of the abolished Ottoman State were transferred to the mentioned new organization.

The name of the archival organization, which was reorganized in 1923, was changed to "Hazine-i Evrak Müdür Muavinligi" under the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry by which it has become, in a way, an individual directorate in 1927. In 1929 it was attached to the Prime Ministry's Directorate of Procedures, but it maintained its ties with the Undersecretariat.

The Prime Ministry Organization Law numbered 3056 which became effective on 19 October 1984 appointed the Prime Ministry with the responsibility to preserve and to provide the use of our national archives. For this purpose, the General Directorate of the State Archives was established and the Directorate of Ottoman Archives was attached to the General Directorate.

Functions of the Directorate of Ottoman Archives are the following:

1. To determine, collect and control the archival material pertaining to the Ottoman period and to the previous periods.
2. To preserve and classify this material according to archival methods and technics and to provide the continuity of archival material by reproducing them,
3. To take necessary scientific and technical measures in order to render archival services relating to the use of archival material by the state, science, and real or corporate bodies,
4. To make collections of important and valuable archival material, to establish an archival museum, to prepare exhibitions and to publish works in order to publicize the archival material to native and foreign scientific media,
5. To follow scientific developments relating to archives abroad, to apply necessary technology, to translate and publish works in this field,
6. To provide the catalogues and samples of the archival records which relate to Turkish history and culture and which pertain to the Ottoman period and the previous periods,
7. To computerize archival services, to use mechanographic methods and technics in archival services,
8. To execute similar functions determined by the concerning authority.

Address: Basbakanlik Devlet Arsivleri Genel Müdürlügü Osmanli Arsivi Daire Baskanligi Ticarethane Sokak, Nu: 12. 34410 Sultanahmet-ISTANBUL
Tel.: +90-212-513 88 70 through 72
Fax: +90-212-511 75 86

The Directorate of Republican Archives

This directorate was established in October 1976; and it was attached to the General Directorate of the State Archives in accordance with the Prime Ministry Organization Law numbered 3056.

The Directorate of Republican Archives is responsible for execution and inspection of scientific and technical studies concerning determination, preservation, classification and maintenance of archival material pretaining to the period of the National Struggle, to the government of the Turkish Great National Assembly and to the Republic kept in the institutions and organizations mentioned in the "Law Concerning the Destruction of Archival Material Which Need not to be Preserved" numbered 3473.

Functions of the Directorate of Republican Archives are the following:

1. To determine the archival material, pertaining to the period of the National Struggle, to the Government of the Turkish Great National Assembly and to the Republic, kept in the institutions and organizations mentioned in the Law numbered 3473,
2. To transfer the archival material form the institutions and organizations according to the essential principles of the relating legislation,
3. To classify the transferred material,
4. To take measures in order to protect archival material from any kind of detoriation, to restore archival material according to its original form, to establish an archival laboratory and a conservation and restoration workshop,
5. To take scientific and technical measures in order to render archival services relating to the use of archival material by the state, science, real or corporate bodies,
6. To appraise the applications for research, to provide the use of archival material by researchers,
7. To control new accumulating potential archival material,
8. To inspect the procedures of selection, preservation and destruction in the archives of institutions and organizations,
9. To follow up and inspect the implementation of principles of national archival policy determined by the General Directorate.
10. To follow up scientific developments relating to archives abroad, to apply necessary technology, to translate and publish works in this field,
11. To make collections of important and valuable archival material, to establish an archival museum, to prepare exhibitions and to publish works in order to publicize the archival material to native and foreign scientific media,
12. To provide the catalogues and samples of the archival records which relate to Turkish history and culture and which pertain to the period of the National Struggle, the Turkish Great National Assembly and the Republic,
13. To computerize archival services, to use mechanographic methods and technics in archival services,
14. To provide the continuity of archival material by reproducing them and to use applications such as films, microfilms, photocopies, and when necessary other advanced techniques in order to transform the material to smaller volumes.
15. To arrange professional relations with the authorities of the institutions and organizations which are charged with the services of state archives,
16. To execute similar functions determined by the concerning authority.

The Directorate of Documentation

The Directorate of Documentation, established in September 1988, is appointed to identify administrative publications, to organize and control them centrally, to classify these documents according to documentation methods and technics for use by the state, science and real or corporate bodies in order to supply the required knowledge and documents which are necessary for the services and activities of the Prime Ministry by cooperating with related institutions.

Functions of the Directorate of Documentation are the following:

1. To identify and compile secondary sources such as catalogues, bibliographies, publication lists, dissemination bulletins, indexes and periodicals and reference sources such as encylopedias, dictionaries, etc. which are under the custody of libraries, documentation and information centers rendering service within institutions and organizations,
2. To search guides, legislation works, annuals, almanacs, brochures, activity reports, development plans and programmes, statistics and evaluation publications relating to services and activities of institutions and organizations and professional documents like periodicals,. builetins and journals.
3. To compile and evaluate professional theses, researches, annual activity and travel report, studies, plans and programmes, statistics, publications on a certain project, regulations and circulars, papers submitted on congresses, symposia, seminars or conferences and conclusion reports; to specify and compile films, photographs, slides relating to speeches, press conferences. briefings, celebrations. memorial and official ceremonies of the state and government authorities.
4. To cooperate with archives, libraries, documentation and information centers, research units of the universities, institutions and organizations in order to meet the needs of government and researchers,
5. To establish an automation system for the Directorate, to research national and international possibilities relating to cooperation in this field, to follow up technical developments.
6. To enter the compiled and specified information and documents into the automation system, to establish an information network and to provide their use by the government and researchers,
7. To research publications on the subjects demanded by the government and to prepare bibliographies,
8. To execute similar functions determined by the concerning authority.

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR RESEARCHERS

Admission

In Ankara, the researcher shall give his or her identity card to the information staff at the entrance of the building, receive his or her "Researcher Entry Card", and sign the register. At the information desk of the research room this card is changed with the "Researcher Card".

In Istanbul, the researcher shall give his or her identity card to the information staff at the entrance of the building, receive his or her "Archival Entry Card", and sign the register.

Research Room and Library

In Ankara, the Research Room and library are located on the ground floor of Block "B". In Istanbul they are on the first floor of Block "B".

Use of the Documents

The essential principles applying to real or corporate bodies either native or foreign who want to carry out research and investigation and who want to take copies in the State Archives and in the other accessible archives have been determined by "The Essential Principles Applying to Real or Corporate Bodies Either Native or Foreign Who Want to Carry Out Research and Investigation in the State Archives", the supplement of Decision of Council of Ministers numbered 89/14269.

The documents requested until 10.00 are given at 14.00, the ones requested until 16.00 are given the next day at 9.00 on (at 9.30 in the Republican Archives) by filling in the "Document Request Forms",

Photocopy Requests

The photocopies or microfilms of the archival document can be obtained for a fee by filling in the "Photocopy" or "Microfilm" request forms to be taken from the staff.

Other Facilities

In Ankara and Istanbul there is a cafeteria for researchers. In Istanbul. the dining hall may also be used, when possible, between 12.30 and 13.30.

Rules to be Obeyed by Researchers

1. The Research room and the library are opened at 9.30 in Ankara, at 9.00 in Istanbul. They are closed at 17.00 in both.
2. Unclassified archival material and damaged documents are not accessible.
3. The archival materials which are being restorated and the materials belonging to the fonds which are being revised are not accessible till these procedures are completed, even if they are present in the catalogues.
4. In principle, research and investigation is carried out on copies or microfilms of the original archival material except in case of printed documents such as books. periodicals, etc. The original document can only be consulted in case of request for comparison. However, if there are no copies or microfilms, research and investigation may be carried out on the original document.
5. Researchers can consult only archival material relating to their research subject. They can not request materials which are not related to their subject. During the research they can not reserve all the materials related to their subject.
6. Researchers take and return the documents by counting them. If documents are lost, the responsibility belongs to the researchers.
7. Applications are replied according to the date and sequence of application. Researchers are informed when documents can be given.
8. Researchers can not request more than 15 documents or 5 registration books a day.
9. Researchers can not request new documents unless they return the previous ones. But if the newly requested documents relate to the previous ones and have to be consulted together, the same number of documents as is requested should be returned.
10. Researchers are forbidden to give the archival material given to him/her to another researcher as well as to copy and photograph them.
11. Researchers have to protect the archival material given to him/her from any kind of destruction and falsification.
12. Researchers can not fold the document other than its original way of folding, can not fold and wrinkle, can not change the order of them, can not write anything on the document, and can not put any mark or number on it. If there is any problem or confusion, relating to the documents, researchers shall not interfere themselves, but inform the staff in the research room.
13. During research and investigation only pencil and eraser can be used.
14. It is forbidden to enter the research room with bags, typing machines. cameras, coats, etc. Researchers shall lock their personal belongings in cupboards placed within the cloak-room.
15. It is forbidden to smoke cigarettes, etc. in the research room.
16. Archival materials are strictly forbidden to be taken outside the research room.
17. Except personnel and researchers, nobody can enter the research rooms.
18. If researchers recess their research for more than one week, they have to return the documents.
19. In the case of disobeyance to these rules, the research is cancelled and the researcher is subject to procedures in accordance with the relating regulation.
20. Catalogues, prepared by the Directorate of Ottoman Archives, can only be consulted in the Directorates of Ottoman or Republican Archives.

Information supplied on this page is quoted directly and totally from the book "Basbakanlik Devlet Arsivleri Genel Müdürlügü = The Prime Ministry, General Directorate of the State Archives." Ankara, 1993: ISBN 975-19-0767-5. © Basbakanlik Devlet Arsivleri Genel Müdürlügü 1993.

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