Özet:

Purpose: Library awareness can be gained by children when they come to the library at an early age. In this process, the existence and quality of the spaces required for the services provided has a great importance for libraries to realize their services for preschool children and their families. The aim of this study is to examine the children's libraries and children’s departments in Ankara Province and to reveal their quality in context of their building, security equipment and material properties. Method: The sample of this study consists of 1 provincial public library, 1 children's library and 5 district public libraries in Ankara, which were selected by purposeful sampling method.. The survey research, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the study, and the data of the research were collected through the "Children's Libraries Physical Condition Checklist" developed by the researchers. Findings: According to the results of this research, Ankara Ali Dayı Children's Library, which has 19 (79%) of the 24 items in terms of building characteristics, is the library with the highest building quality, while Cebeci District Public Library, which has 6 of 24 items (25%), has been determined as the library with lowest building quality. In terms of security equipment, while Ankara Ali Dayı Children's Library has the best security equipment among the libraries selected with a "Yes" result from 11 (%65) of 17 items; Cebeci, Mamak and Sincan District Public Libraries, on the other hand, received only "Yes" from 4 (%24) of the items and they were in the lowest place in terms of security equipmnet. In terms of materials, Ankara Ali Dayı Children's Library and Keçiören Cemil Meriç District Public Library received a "Yes" result from 16 (%84) of the 19 items and has the highest material quality; Altındağ District Public Library is at the lowest level among libraries selected with a "Yes" result from 9 (%47) items. Results: According to the findings of the study, it was found that two of the seven libraries in the sample group were in good condition, three libraries were in average characteristics, and two libraries were in insufficient characteristics in terms of general physical condition. Originality: This study was carried out using the "Library Physical Condition Checklist" developed by the researchers, was carried out in different libraries in Ankara province, and the researchers objectively examined the physical conditions of the libraries without guidance.

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