The Library of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies
The Library of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies, with approximately 20,000 titles of books and journals, both Greek and foreign, is the only library in Greece specialised in Asia Minor studies.
Classified geographically on the basis of the same logic that governs the organisation of the Oral Tradition Archive, the Library, besides its main collection, includes special collections of old and rare books, pamphlets and printed documents. Of special significance are the Library’s collections of Smyrna and Constantinople imprints from the 19th and 20th century.
The Library serves as a repository of exceptional archival diversity and a documentation centre for Asia Minor studies. In terms of its bibliographical sources, the Library keeps abreast with the contemporary historical output, as well as with research challenges, whilst it fosters exchanges with related research institutions in Greece and abroad.
Reading Room
The Library’s reading room operates Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 14.00 by prior telephone appointment.
To schedule an appointment, please contact Barbara Psychoula-Kontogianni, Head of the Library–Archive: tel. +30 210 3239225 or email [email protected].
Core Collection
The significant collection of sources and supporting material for understanding, studying and investigating the historical, intellectual and cultural presence of Hellenism in Asia Minor up to the Catastrophe and Exodus comprises the core of the Library.
This core – along with its extensive and unique specialised collections – has been automated using the OpenABEKT library programme of the National Documentation Centre.
For donations of printed and archival material, please contact Barbara Psychoula-Kontogianni, Head of the Library–Archive: tel. +30 210 3239225 or email [email protected].
Electronic Library Catalogue (OPAC)
The Electronic Catalogue of the Library of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies includes all of the books, documents, printed materials and rare collections referring to the entire Asia Minor peninsula.
Through the Electronic Catalogue, the reader can search for and identify works in the collections of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies and obtain relevant information. Additionally, the Library of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies has digitised part of its printed matter and rare collections in order to make them accessible to the broader public.
Library Regulations
Collections of Rare Prints and Manuscripts
The core of the Library is complemented by collections of rare documents and manuscripts.
Greek Editions of Constantinople
The Christoforos I. Christidis collection, donated by his niece, Ioanna Agianoglou, was catalogued by the researcher Matoula Kouroupou. It consists of Greek and foreign-language editions which were either printed in Constantinople or refer to it. The collection also includes a significant series of Turkish books and journals.
Karamanlidika Editions
The section of the Library featuring Karamanlidika editions (Turkish language printed in Greek script) is of paramount importance, as it is one of the world’s most extensive collections of such imprints. It was initially formed through the contributions and donations by Turkish-speaking refugees. It was not until later, during the 1980s, that the collection of Iordanis Pamboukis was acquired. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Sévérien Salaville and Eugène Dalleggio, a three-volume bibliography of Karamanlidika texts was published under the title Karamanlidika. Bibliographie analytique d’ouvrages en langue turque imprimés en caractères grecs (1584-1900). Evangelia Balta carried on this significant work in the 1980s, extending the range of the catalogue up to the first decades of the 20th century. Her work was published by the Centre for Asia Minor Studies in three additional volumes.
19th-century Smyrna Editions
The collection of the physician and scholar Athanasios D. Hatzidimos, which consists of 19th-century Smyrna editions, was purchased in 1980 and catalogued by the researcher Ioanna Petropoulou. The bibliography was published in collaboration with the Philippos Iliou Bibliology Workshop of the Benaki Museum.
Charters of Associations and Organisations from Asia Minor
Approximately 500 charters of associations and organisations from Constantinople and Asia Minor were collected through donations, such as that of D. M. Mostratos of Folegandros. These were compiled and catalogued by the researcher Matoula Kouroupou.
Codices of Communities and Parishes of Asia Minor
Codices from several Asia Minor communities and Orthodox parishes have been deposited at the Centre for Asia Minor Studies. They were preserved and brought to Greece by the exchangeable Orthodox populations during the Exodus. The codices document the life of the communities: births, marriages, deaths, schools, churches, local events. Eighteen of them are written in Greek. Another eighteen are Karamanlidika. There are six bilingual codices (Greek–Karamanlidika), and there is one in Turkish in Ottoman script.
Collection of Audiovisual Material
A recent addition to the archival collections of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies is a series of tapes with interviews with the remaining Greek inhabitants of Imbros (1992-1996), which has been collected by Dr Eugenia Chalkia. More recently, the Centre for Asia Minor Studies has gathered a number of videotapes and digital optical discs featuring topics related to Asia Minor.
19th-century Smyrna Editions
The collection of the physician and scholar Athanasios D. Hatzidimos, which consists of 19th-century Smyrna editions, was purchased in 1980 and catalogued by the researcher Ioanna Petropoulou. The bibliography was published in collaboration with the Philippos Iliou Bibliology Workshop of the Benaki Museum.
Collection of Audiovisual Material
A recent addition to the archival collections of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies is a series of tapes with interviews with the remaining Greek inhabitants of Imbros (1992-1996), which has been collected by Dr Eugenia Chalkia. More recently, the Centre for Asia Minor Studies has gathered a number of videotapes and digital optical discs featuring topics related to Asia Minor.
