The British Council, Posta Kutusu, Besiktas (tel. 0212/355-5657; www.britishcouncil.org.tr; Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9:30am-2:30pm), is one of a global network of British Councils working to connect people with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the U.K. via courses in English, educational exchange, and special events. The library is one of the best resources for multilingual information on antiquities in Turkey, as well as a great reference center for translations of Turkish literary works. They have a huge collection of English-language books, in addition to CDs, music, and videos. The center is popular with students of the English language. Its American counterpart is the American Research Institute in Turkey (Üvez Sok. 5, Arnavutköy; tel. 0212/257-8111; Mon-Fri 9:30am-6pm).
For books and historical documents on Istanbul, the Turkish Touring and Automobile Club runs the Istanbul Library, located in one of the old Ottoman houses it restored on Sogukçesme Sokagi in Sultanahmet (tel. 0212/512-5730; Mon-Fri 9am-noon; 1:30-5pm).
In a forgotten ancient building across from the Fener jetty on the Golden Horn is the Women's Library (Kadin Eserleri Kütüphanesi; tel. 0212/534-9550; Mon-Fri 10:30am-6:30pm; closed for religious holidays). Founded by Füsun Akatli, a renowned Turkish writer, the library has grown into a collection of materials -- mostly in Turkish -- featuring female artists, photographers, directors, and artisans. There's also a section on women in Istanbul and on women in Ottoman dress. (Entrance will require you to show your passport.)
The Istanbul Archaeology Museum has a library of over 60,000 volumes on archaeology and will be opened upon request. Two other archaeology centric research centers are at the Dutch History and Archaeology Institute Library (Istiklal Cad. 393; tel. 0212/293-9283) and the German Archaeology Institute Library (Ayazpasa Cami Sok. 48, Gümüssuyu; tel. 0212/244-0714).
