Batman, located in southeastern Türkiye, ranked second in Türkiye after Istanbul in library visits in 2025 with more than 2.3 million visitors. According to the 2025 library statistics released by Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), with a population of about 650,000, Batman surpassed many major metropolitan areas. When the number of library visits was measured against population size, Batman ranked first nationwide by a wide margin.

Istanbul ranked first with 6,577,638 library visitors, followed by Batman with 2,375,018, Kayseri with 2,192,825, Samsun with 1,471,418 and Van with 1,308,178, according to TurkStat.

Batman Governor Ekrem Çanalp attributed the province’s high library usage to investments aimed at expanding access to libraries.

“Batman is the province with the highest number of visitors in Türkiye after Istanbul,” Çanalp said. “How did this happen? There is a model originating in the United States known as the Seattle model. What this model says is that there should be a large library in the center, while people outside the center should also have access to libraries.”

To expand the city’s library network, Çanalp said the provincial administration worked with the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Batman Municipality and the Provincial Special Administration, with the costs shared equally between the partners.

“As part of this effort, we built eight new libraries,” he said. “Four are now operational, while the other four will open soon. Once the other four become operational, we will see that Batman is the clear champion.”

Çanalp said that one of the eight libraries is for children and babies.

“We are building libraries designed to meet the needs of babies as well,” Çanalp said, adding that libraries are build designed like youth centers that are capable of meeting all kinds of needs of children. “We are constantly finding ways to attract them to libraries,” he said.

“This region suffered greatly from terrorism in the past,” he said, “We suffered tremendous pain from losing our children, our young people, in the mountains. But now is the time to read. Now is the time to improve ourselves. It is time to rebuild ourselves.”

“From now on, our children will build their futures not in the mountains, but in libraries,” he said.

Sibel Solak, an English teacher who visits the library to study for the Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS), said that the new libraries has been a great advantage. “I have been coming to Şehit Şenay Aybüke Library for about a year,” she said, “In the past, we did not have such a spacious place to study in Batman. We can study comfortably here and easily access the resources we need.”

Özlem Tanır, who comes to the library from Akoba village to also study for the KPSS, said Batman’s ranking made her proud. “The internet connection is slower in the village, but here I can watch my videos without interruption and study without having to take breaks,” she said. “I am in a quiet and peaceful environment. We are lucky.”