Aims and objectives
The Istanbul-based publishing department of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) produced and/or distributed a series of publications between 1857 and 1933. Held in the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT)’s American Board Library in Istanbul, this collection includes Armenian and Armeno-Turkish editions of the newspaper Avedaper ("the Messenger") as well as Armenian, Armeno-Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Greek and Greco-Turkish books, booklets and pamphlets. These publications (many in the endangered Western Armenian dialect) are vital records of Türkiye's Armenian population in the late Ottoman era, especially the Protestant segment, about which few written traces remain. Besides preserving these crucial sources, digitisation allows this material to be made available via the Internet for study and research worldwide.
Music: "Karcığar Ud taksim” by Ehl-i Keyif is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Outcomes
EAP1355 completed the digitisation of eight separate collections housed in ARIT’s American Board Library: (1) 50 volumes of the Armenian edition of the newspaper Avedaper published between 1857 and 1914 (22,759 images); (2) 43 volumes of the Armeno-Turkish edition of Avedaper published between 1857 to 1910 (18,536 images); (3) Ottoman Turkish editions of 38 books, 18 booklets and 25 pamphlets published between 1884 and 1928 (3,716 images); (4) Armenian editions of 144 books published between 1873 and 1933 (11,821 images); (5) Armeno-Turkish editions of 41 books published between 1842 and 1927 (5,475 images); (6) Greek editions of 2 books, 5 booklets and 15 pamphlets published between 1873 and 1933 (405 images); (7) Greco-Turkish editions of 12 books published between 1873 and 1933 (1,590 images); and (8) 2 volumes of the periodical Hay Badani published in 1920-22 (1,680 images).
All these works were produced and/or distributed by the publication department of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). This material comprises one of the most complete, extant collections of the department’s output and stock for distribution; it provides insight into the American Board’s religious, educational and cultural aims as well as the unique view of the local Protestant community it served.
The original material is housed at the Istanbul branch of the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT). The SALT Research Center, ARIT’s local archival partner in EAP1355, will receive a copy of the digitised material to host on its digital platform, alongside the online collection of ARIT’s American Board Archives (https://archives.saltresearch.org/handle/123456789/1)
Cataloguing of the Armenian and Armeno-Turkish material (the bulk of items in the collection) was completed by a local individual with Armenian and Turkish languages skills. She did not have prior experience with archives or libraries but learned cataloguing methodology as well as transliteration systems through her work on the project. Digitising was done by a local photographer already familiar with the collection and with previous digitising experience. From this project and EAP’s guidelines, she learned new methods and techniques of digital capture.
The material is currently available on the SALT Research website.
The following document was submitted as part of the project outputs:
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Bu proje American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) İstanbul’un Amerikan Bord Kütüphanesi bünyesinde bulunan American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM)’ın İstanbul’daki yayın departmanının 1857 ile 1933 yılları arasında bastığı ve/ya dağıtımından sorumlu olduğu yayın koleksiyonunu dijital ortama aktarmayı hedeflemiştir. Koleksiyondaki eserler Ermenice ve Ermeni-Türkçesi dillerinde yayınlanmış gazete Avedaper (“Haberci”) ile Ermenice, Ermeni-Türkçesi, Osmanlı Türkçesi, Yunanca ve Karamanlıca dillerinde yayınlanmış kitaplar, kitapçıklar ve broşürlerden oluşmaktadır. Koleksiyondaki bu yayınlar (ki çoğu yok olma tehlikesi altındaki Batı Ermenice lehçesinde yazılmıştır) geç Osmanlı döneminde İmparatorluğun Ermeni nüfusu, özellikle de yazılı kaynakların kısıtlı sayıda olduğu Protestanlığı benimsemiş kısmı, hakkında önemli belgeler niteliğindedir. Bu proje, bu önemli kaynakların korunmasının yanı sıra, dijital kopyaların internet üzerinden yayınlanmasıyla akademik araştırmalar için erişimini sağlamıştır.
Սյս ծրագիրը American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) մասնաճիւղի Իսթանպուլ Ամերիկեան Պորտ Գրադարանի կարգադրութեամբ American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) հրատարակչական կազմակերպութեան 1857-1933 տարիներու միջեւ տպագրած ու տարածած հրատարակութինները թվային միջավայրի վրայ տարածելու գործողութիւնն է: Այս հրատարակութինները Հայերէն եւ Հայկական-Թրքերէն լեզուներով հրատարակուած լրագիր Աւետաբեր եւ Հայերէն, ՀայկականԹրքերէն, Օսմանյան Թրքերէն, Յունարէն եւ Քարամանլը լէզուներով հրատարակուած գիրքեր, գրքոյկներ եւ պրակներէ կը փաղկանայ: Սյս գործերը որոնց մեծ մասը կորսուելու վտանքի տակ գտնուող Արեւմտահայերենի գաւառաբարբառով գրուած է: Օսմանեան Կայսրութեան շրջանի Հայ համայնքի մանաւանդ Փողոքականներու ապրելակերպի մասին կարեւոր ծանօթութիւններ կուտայ: Սյս ծրագիրը թէ սոյն գիտելիքներու պահպանման արաւել թվային միջավայրի համաձանցերու շնորհիւ նոր պրպտումնէրու օգնական հանդիսանալու տեսակէտէ շատ շահեկան աշխատութիւն մըն է:
