Furuzan Olşen

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Furuzan Olşen was one of the pioneering figures of modern academic librarianship in Türkiye and played a decisive role in the establishment and development of the Middle East Technical University Library. After graduating from the Department of English Language and Literature at Ankara University, Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, Olşen began her professional career in the field of education. Following her experience as a teacher and administrator, she was awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship to pursue graduate studies in librarianship at the University of Illinois. During this period, she gained valuable professional experience by working for approximately one and a half years at the University of Illinois Library. Upon her return to Türkiye, she joined Middle East Technical University in October 1957 with the mission of establishing the METU Library. In 1959, she returned to the University of Illinois, where she continued her work for two years to gain further expertise in line with the needs of the newly developing library. She resumed her duties at METU in 1961. During the University’s formative years, she played an active role in organizing the library, shaping collection development policies, and establishing its service structure. She also worked in close collaboration with Behruz Çinici during the design process of the library building. The completed building was featured on the cover of the 10th issue (1973) of the German architectural journal Bauen + Wohnen, where it was معرفی as one of the leading library buildings in the Middle East meeting European standards. Through joint efforts with Kemal Kurdaş, substantial international financial support, as well as significant donations of books and periodicals, were secured for the library. Olşen served as Deputy Director of the Library between July 1965 and October 1967, and was appointed Director on October 1, 1967, a position she held until August 1981. During her tenure, she significantly advanced both the quality and quantity of the METU Library’s collections and led the structuring of library services in accordance with international standards. In addition to institutional development, she placed strong emphasis on human resource development, supporting the professional growth of library staff and encouraging both national and international training opportunities. Her efforts contributed to the establishment of a highly qualified professional team and played a key role in making the METU Library a model research library in Türkiye. Furuzan Olşen passed away in 2010. In recognition of her lasting contributions, an exhibition hall within the METU Library has been named in her honor.

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https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119104

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METU Bellek, Biography