2023 Vision of Turkey, Public Library Policies and emi gezek : A Comparison of Public Libraries in Western Countries and Turkey with an Emphasis on Functional Aspects 2023 Türkiye Vizyonu, Halk Kütüphanesi Politikalar ve emi gezek : Bat ülkeleri ve Türkiye Halk Kütüphanelerinin levsel A dan Bir Kar la t rmas

The present situation of public libraries and the policies adopted concerning public libraries in the western world and Turkey have been surveyed based on some news items, official policy papers and professional literature for the purpose of reviewing Turkish public library policy using a comparative approach. The findings of the study indicates that Turkey seems to be following the same principles with Europe in broad terms. However, it has been concluded that the full potential of the public libraries are not likely to be utilized because of the oversight of the gap in their service level compared to their European counterparts all these decades, and also because of emphasizing the cultural function of the public libraries rather than the role they can play in transitioning to knowledge society, contributing to closing the gap between the rich and the poor, helping with social inclusion and contributing to lifelong learning. Bat ülkelerinde ve Türkiye’de halk kütüphanelerinin mevcut durumu ve uygulanan politikalar medyada yer alan haberler, resmi politika belgeleri ve literatüre dayal olarak g zden ge irilmi ve Türkiye’nin halk kütüphanesi politikas irdelenmi tir. Anahatlar ile Avrupa ile ayn paralelde hareket etti i izlenimi vermekle birlikte, Türkiye’de ge mi ten gelen bo lu un g z ard edilmesi ve halk kütüphanelerinin toplumsal i e alma, vars lla yoksul aras ndaki u urumu azaltma, halk ya am boyu renme olanaklar ndan yararland rma gibi konularda oynayabilece i sosyo-ekonomik rolden ok, a rl kl olarak, kültürel boyuta yo unla malar nedeniyle bilgi toplumuna d nü üme potansiyel katk lar n n yeterince de erlendirilmedi i sonucuna var lm t r.