Regulation on the Identification and Registration of Manuscripts and Rare Printed Works Has Been Published

The Regulation on the Identification and Registration of Manuscripts and Rare Printed Works (“Regulation”) entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette dated September 5, 2025. The Regulation establishes the procedures and principles for the identification, registration and acquisition of manuscripts and rare printed works belonging to individuals, legal entities and public institutions for manuscript libraries.

Manuscripts are works written by hand that possess artistic, historical, or substantive value. Rare printed works, on the other hand, are defined as publications printed before November 1, 1928, the date when the Law on the Adoption and Implementation of the Turkish Alphabet entered into force, as well as books written in other languages.

The Regulation introduces the following key provisions concerning manuscripts and rare printed works:

• A registration commission shall be established to determine whether the submitted works qualify as manuscripts or rare printed works subject to registration.
• Decisions of the registration commission may be appealed within thirty days by either a dissenting member of the commission or the applicant requesting registration. Appeals shall be reviewed by a higher commission to be established.
• A digital copy of each registered work shall be prepared and preserved in the archive. With the permission of the owner, digitized works shall be added to the Manuscripts Database.
• Criminal complaints shall be filed against individuals found to have submitted forged works with the intent to mislead the relevant authorities.
• Works submitted for registration that are determined to complement library collections shall be purchased or accepted as donations by the Presidency of the Turkish Manuscripts Institution.
• Works not deemed necessary for inclusion in library collections, as well as works of this nature that the owners do not wish to sell, shall be returned. However, the owner remains subject to inspection and must submit a declaration once every three years confirming possession of the work.
• Natural and legal persons engaged in collecting are obliged to register their collections consisting of manuscripts.
• Public institutions and organizations, as well as natural and legal persons, are required to notify and present manuscripts, rare printed works, and collections found among items or estates to be sold, or intended for sale at auctions. Works subject to mandatory registration shall be registered under this framework.

The full text of the Regulation is available at this link. (only available in Turkish).