The annual course in international law librarianship is the Association's main meeting and educational event of the year. This year we are fortunate to be hosted by the Istanbul Bilgi University and the Rector of the University will participate at the opening reception of the conference. The programme has received the strong support of Faculty of Law and the Dean of the Faculty will chair the first substantive session of the conference.
Turkey and the European Union
The opening talk on the history of Istanbul will be by a famous writer and historian. There will be a session on the Turkish legal system and legal education which will cover a variety of topics including human rights; a session on e-government, digital systems and justice including the new judiciary information system in Turkey; a session on international art law with the assistance of two US colleagues (Kathy Price and Carol Roehrenbeck); a session on Turkish legal publishing and legal databases, sources of Turkish law, and librarianship in Turkey including the new Turkish ‘Platform of Law Libraries'; a session on Intellectual property, especially digital rights management for music reproduction; and a major session on Turkey and the European Union.
Group visits will be available to several important and historical libraries and archives:
- The Süleymaniye Manuscript Library which contains the largest collection of Islamic manuscripts in the world.
- The IRCICA Library is a reference library specialized in Islamic culture and civilization. The Library was established at the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in 1980.
- The Ottoman Archives containing over 150 million documents from 600 years of the Ottoman Empire.
The Association's annual meeting is being held in Istanbul. Located in the centre of the Old World, Istanbul is one of the world's great cities famous for its historical monuments and magnificent scenic beauties. It is the only city in the world which spreads over two continents: it lies at a point where Asia and Europe are separated by a narrow strait - the Bosphorus. Istanbul has a history of over 2,500 years, and ever since its establishment on this strategic junction of lands and seas, the city has been a crucial trade centre.
The city offers a huge array of important historic buildings including the Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. It has a wealth of archaeological monuments as well as a vibrant and colourful local culture of tea gardens, taverns, and markets such as the spice bazaar and Grand Bazaar, 'the world's oldest shopping centre'.
There is a sense of energy and innovation in the city which is again very fashionable as a world destination. There is a wealth of exciting new art galleries and museums as well as restaurants, bars and nightlife.
The full registration fee includes all lunches and refreshment breaks Monday to Wednesday, Sunday evening buffet Reception, the City Tour on Monday, Dinner and Floorshow on Monday at the Galata Tower, and the Reception and Annual Dinner on board a cruise through the Bosphorus on Wednesday. Please also indicate if you would like to participate in the optional extra day tour to Bursa ion Thursday.
Istanbul is served by flights from all over the world and has two international airports,
Istanbul Atatürk International Airport and
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. Information about transfers from the airports including times and costs is on the Transport Information Sheet which also gives details of bus services between.
The conference host is the Istanbul Bilgi University, one of Turkey's leading universities with wonderful modern facilities in the heart of Istanbul. Istanbul Bilgi University was founded in 1996 as a private, non-profit, and unique institution with a wide variety of cultural and social activities, dynamic environment, access to state of the art technology and exceptional academic staff who are the foundation of BILGI's quality education. A considerable amount of teaching takes place in the English language and the Faculty of Laws has particular programmes in globalisation and European Integration.
The conference venue is santralistanbul, a project led by Istanbul Bilgi University, involving the conversion of the first power station built in Istanbul during the Ottoman period - Silahtaraga Power Plant - into a Museum of Contemporary Arts, a Museum of Energy, and a cultural and educational centre. santralistanbul is situated in the heart of the city at the upper end of the Golden Horn. It is 10 km from Taksim, the centre of modern Istanbul, and 20 km from Atatürk Airport. There are free shuttles every 20 minutes from Taksim AKM (Atatürk Cultural Centre) to santralistanbul.
Delegates should book and arrange for the payment of their own accommodation. There is no official conference hotel but rooms have been block booked at discounted prices in a range of preferred hotels close to each other in the area of Taksim/Tepebasi in the centre of Istanbul. The Taksim/Tepebasi area is about 15 minutes drive from the conference venue on the University campus and there will be conference buses from the hotels in Taksim/Tepebasi. There is also a free shuttle bus service from Taksim Square to the University campus. Some other hotels including major international hotels are suggested; these will not be served by the conference buses but they are mostly very near to or on Taksim Square.
For all information on the hotels, please consult the Hotel Information Sheet.
