Aims and objectives
The Musiki Muallim Mektebi, today known as the Ankara State Conservatory, was the first conservatory of the Republic of Turkey and its collection holds photographs, inter-institutional correspondence, and the students’ application documents between 1925-1956. By covering the first half of the 20th century, the collection is comprised of thousands of documents including letters, correspondence, documents, photographs, envelopes and telegrams. Archival materials in the collection are written in Ottoman Turkish, French, German and English. These documents reflect not only the history of education in Turkey but also the impact of modernisation on educational institutions. The collection offers valuable information on socio-cultural trends, technological and medical developments, and the World War II’s effects on the economy and consumption habits. However, these archival materials have not been preserved under proper conditions until today and they are in danger in many ways. Documents may become unreadable or inaccessible unless they are digitised and made accessible through an online platform. The project aims at identifying and digitising these valuable documents. Besides the physical preservation of these delicate and historically significant materials, digitisation will allow them to be accessible to researchers from all around the world. Lastly, the project with its materials intents to contribute to further interdisciplinary studies related to the subject of the collection.
Outcomes
6,500 documents and photographs from 1934-1956 have been transferred to digital media. These valuable documents, representing the first half of the 20th century, are now preserved for future generations. These valuable documents, closely related to many different disciplines and the history of education, have been made available to users.
Additionally, 19,500 digital copies were obtained. These scans were stored on external disk and will be sent to the British Library. Thus, digital preservation and transfer will be ensured. Inventory numbers were assigned to the scans following the guide prepared by the EAP and the curator's instructions. A hierarchy has been created for the folders. As a result, a meaningful connection was established between the scans and the metadata.
Metadata creation was carried out, and definitions were added to the digitized documents. Highly detailed and meticulous definitions were prepared. To enhance to quality of the metadata, data was entered in Turkish and English in the title and description.
Regular quality control checks were carried out both on the scans and the metadata. Archival storage materials were purchased for securing the physical storage of archival documents. As a result, both digital and physical protection of the materials has been secured.
The following methodology report was submitted as part of the project outputs:
