The library of the Faculty of Theology has unique scholarly resources in diverse fields of social and religious sciences. Over the years it has become one of the largest libraries in Turkey in Islamic and religious studies, with over 120,000 books and numerous periodicals, all catalogued and classified according to modern library practices. Users have direct access to the library stacks and the library is open to outside researchers in addition to Marmara University faculty members and students. 

The library building has two reading hall that can serve up to 120 researchers at the same time. All materials in the library now have electronic records and can easily be located through the University’s online catalogue. The library has free wireless Internet access. There are several computers placed for public use in various locations in the library. There are also group study rooms in the library. 

Manuscript Collection

The library of the Faculty of Theology houses a priceless collection of about 1,650 volumes of Islamic manuscripts. The manuscripts are written in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish, and cover a wide range of subjects, especially Qur’anic exegesis, hadith, Islamic law, kalam, and Sufism, but also Arabic language and literature, Persian and Turkish literature, logic, philosophy, ethics, and various exact sciences such as astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, zoology, etc. All of the manuscripts, with the exception of some fragments, have been catalogued and have bibliographic records in the online catalogue of Marmara University. The manuscripts are stored in a separate area of the library and are accessible by written permission from the Dean’s Office.

Libraries of Istanbul

Marmara University is a well-established and prestigious university with high academic objectives. In addition to the library of the Faculty of Theology, the University has a central library. Many other faculties under Marmara University have their independent library units. The university library also subscribes to several electronic resources and databases. A number of the faculty libraries, especially those of the Faculty of Political Sciences and the Faculty of Law house many sources that are relevant to Islamic and Religious Studies.

Istanbul is a city that is enormously rich with great libraries. No other city in the world can compete with Istanbul in terms of holding unique manuscript collections in Islamic Studies. University and public libraries are spread across the city and can be found in almost every corner of the city.