Basbakanlik archives

From ArchivesWiki

This collection of papers from the Ottoman Empire is one of the world's major archives. NOTE: The reading room is moving to Bab-i Ali in fall/winter 2008.

Contents 1 Orientation 1.1 Coordinates 1.1.1 Address 1.1.2 Website 1.1.3 Telephone 1.1.4 Fax 1.1.5 Email 1.2 Schedule & hours 1.3 Working language(s) 1.4 Layout 1.5 Directions 2 Holdings 2.1 Description of holdings 2.2 History of the archive 2.3 Catalogues & finding aids 2.4 Languages of materials 2.5 Restrictions & difficulties 2.5.1 Classified material 2.5.2 Inaccessible material 2.6 Future of the archive 3 Research procedures 3.1 Access 3.2 First visit 3.3 Permitted and prohibited items 3.4 Document ordering 3.4.1 Ordering classified material 3.5 Document delivery 3.6 Photocopying, photography, microfilming 3.7 Key forms 4 Key individuals 4.1 Archive staff 4.2 Scholars 4.3 Bibliography 5 Practicalities 5.1 Food 5.2 Lockers 5.3 Washrooms 5.4 Transportation 5.5 Internet access 5.6 Funding 5.7 Bookstore 5.8 Terminology 6 See also

[edit] Orientation

[edit] Coordinates

[edit] Address

Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü
Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı
Ticarethane Sokak No:12
34410 Sultanahmet-İSTANBUL

[edit] Website

http://www.devletarsivleri.gov.tr (in Turkish)

[edit] Telephone

(+90 212) 526 20 01 (direct line)
(+90 212) 513 88 70-72 (switchboard 3 lines)

[edit] Fax

(+90 212) 511 75 86

[edit] Email

osmanli@basbakanlik.gov.tr

[edit] Schedule & hours

Reading room is open 9:00 - 17:00; building is open 8:30-17:30.

The archives is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays.

[edit] Working language(s)

Modern Turkish is pretty necessary, though some staff members speak some English, Arabic, and other languages.

[edit] Layout

The archives building is two towers, joined by a main floor mezzanine, with a garden behind. The main reading room is on the second floor of the west tower.
The documents themselves are not stored on site, but at storerooms near the new Bab-i Ali location.

[edit] Directions

(how to find the archive)

[edit] Holdings

[edit] Description of holdings

The archives holds some 100 million documents, as well as 150,000 registers.

[edit] History of the archive

(previous location(s) of collection held there, and any information that might help researchers to navigate previous systems)

[edit] Catalogues & finding aids

The key resource is the Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi Rehberi (2nd ed, 2000, 558 pp.), available from the bookstore in the basement. This guide is the key to the various finding aids shelved at the back of the reading room. Some (but not all) of these aids, in turn, have been made available in the searchable online catalogue: http://www.devletarsivleri.gov.tr/katalog/. About ten percent of holdings are catalogued in this way, with new material added every day.
Current cataloguing proceeds by provenance, according to the (changing) administrative structures of the Empire. Previous cagalogues still in use include the Cevdet catalogue (topical, subdivided by interior, exterior, economic, and so on) and the Ali Emir catalogue (chronological by Sultan). Both of these catalogues are integrated into the online catalogue. Original Ottoman classification catalogues are currently being transliterated into Modern Turkish and added to the online catalogue.

[edit] Languages of materials

Most of the material is in Ottoman Turkish, but there is a good deal of material in Arabic and French, as well as other languages.

[edit] Restrictions & difficulties

[edit] Classified material

[edit] Inaccessible material

[edit] Future of the archive

The reading rooms are moving to their original location in Bab-i Ali at some point after Bayram 2008. Discussions about policy at the new reading room are ongoing. It is possible, for instance, that digital cameras may be allowed in the archive at some point in the near future.

[edit] Research procedures

[edit] Access

A passport is all that is needed, and the reader's card is delivered quickly and easily. You do not need to hold a research or study visa--a tourist visa is sufficient.

[edit] First visit

The security guard ushers you to the registration office, which is to your right as you enter the building. You fill in a form with identity information and a general description of your research topic and time period. Bring a photograph, which will be attached to your reader's card. You are then taken upstairs to the reading room, where a worker gives you a brief introduction to the computerized catalogue.

[edit] Permitted and prohibited items

(if possible, account for laptop computers, cameras, scanners, phones, pens and pencils, loose papers, and so on)

• Permitted: laptop computers
• Prohibited: cameras, scanners

[edit] Document ordering

Documents are ordered using this form, which you fill in duplicate. You can order 25 documents per day, as well as a much smaller number of registers.

Many documents have been digitized and can be read on the screens of computer terminals in the archive. This collection includes 58,000 Hatt-i Humayun, 2,000 financial registers, and new material being added daily. These items can be printed from the screen.

[edit] Ordering classified material

(what special permission is necessary?)

[edit] Document delivery

Documents which are requested before 10:00 a.m. by completing the appropriate “Document Request Forms” will be made available at 14:00 p.m. on the same day; while documents which are requested in the afternoon till 16:00 will be made available at 09:00 a.m. the following day.(how long does it take for documents to arrive? where are they delivered? how many can you consult at a time? what do you do when you are finished with an item?)

[edit] Photocopying, photography, microfilming

(what are costs, permits, and page limits? how long do you have to wait?)

[edit] Key forms

(what are the main forms that the archive uses? if possible, provide links to copies or post copies directly)

[edit] Key individuals

[edit] Archive staff

(people you've found particularly helpful; no invective)

[edit] Scholars

(scholars who are familiar with this archive)

[edit] Bibliography

(published works based on research at this archive)

[edit] Practicalities

[edit] Food

Enjoy tea in the pleasant garden. Lunch can be had on the sixth floor.

[edit] Lockers

There are small lockers on the main floor. Pick up a key at the security desk.

[edit] Washrooms

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Internet access

[edit] Funding

[edit] Bookstore

There is a bookstore in the basement, in the same room where you pay photocopy fees. A good number of publications of the archives are available here, including the Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi Rehberi.

[edit] Terminology

dosya = box.

[edit] See also

• http://www.byegm.gov.tr/statearchives/guide.htm gives information about the archives in English, and includes a number of photographs of the reading rooms and stacks.