The symposium ’Shaping Knowledge Together“ organized at Bilkent University as part of the 62nd Library Week brought together academics, librarians and students. In the symposium, the production, management and sharing of knowledge were discussed with a multidimensional approach. Mehmet Mirat Satoğlu, Director of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM, made important evaluations on the power of data and the impact of research outputs in the session ”From Data to Impact: New Areas of Power in Librarianship“.
In his speech, Satoğlu emphasized that not only the production of scientific data is not enough; effective management, accessibility and reusability of data are critical for the sustainability of the research ecosystem.
Satoğlu also touched upon the national information and library services provided by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM, and drew attention to the infrastructure and projects developed to provide researchers with fast, reliable and uninterrupted access to information. In this context, he emphasized the contributions of the Electronic Resources National Academic License (EKUAL), DergiPark, TR Index and National Bulk Catalog (TO-KAT) services provided by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM to Turkey's academic production capacity.
Satoğlu stated that a total of 8 new database license agreements, 4 of which are open access article publishing agreements, have been signed as of 2026 within the scope of EKUAL, and that access to approximately 3 million researchers is provided thanks to this service offered to universities and training and research hospitals in Turkey and TRNC. He stated that last year, 1,561 articles in Wiley and 2,711 articles in Springer Nature were published with open access support within the scope of EKUAL.
In his speech, Satoğlu mentioned that DergiPark, an important platform in the field of open science and digital publishing, completed the infrastructure of the Continuous Publication Model in 2025 and made it available to editors as of 2026. He stated that 462 journals currently prefer the continuous publishing model, while 2,184 journals continue their traditional publishing model. With more than 28 million unique users and hundreds of millions of interactions annually, DergiPark maintains its position as a strong open access center on a regional scale.
Stating that TR Index, which has reached millions of new users in recent years, is on its way to becoming a regional index with its increasing impact, Satoğlu emphasized that they have brought together researchers with 1,774 journals and approximately 655 thousand articles and the final reports of more than 26 thousand projects supported by TÜBİTAK.
Satoğlu said that TO-KAT, the common interface of library collections, is a comprehensive search platform that brings together the catalog records of university and research libraries across Turkey and facilitates access to information.
In his speech, Satoğlu also touched upon the impact of digital transformation on library services, noting that traditional approaches have been replaced by data-driven, user-centered and integrated service models. He stated that researchers can access information faster and more effectively thanks to the digital platforms developed by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM.
Emphasizing that the global visibility of academic production in Turkey has increased with open access policies and international collaborations, Satoğlu said that the services offered to researchers also strengthen scientific collaborations.
While the symposium was an important meeting point in line with the goals of shaping the future of the academic ecosystem with a common mind, the vision and activities of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM were followed with interest by the participants.
Within the scope of the symposium, Bilkent University Rector Prof. Dr. Kürşat Aydoğan and TUBITAK ULAKBIM Director Mehmet Mirat Satoğlu jointly opened the special photo exhibition titled “40 Years of Bilkent University Library”, which reveals the 40-year history of Bilkent University Library.
