Mustafa Güzelgöz was a Turkish librarian. He established and operated a traveling library which circulated among 36 villages in the Ürgüp district, becoming known as the "Librarian with Donkey". By the time of his retirement, he had also established 12 permanent libraries, as well as innovated cultural activities such as sewing and carpentry courses, folk dances, choir, and music band works, cinema screenings, photography works, sports organizations, and a village newspaper.
Early years
Mustafa Güzelgöz was born in a village of the Ürgüp district in Nevşehir Province of Central Anatolia in 1921. He sought work in Istanbul, and was conscripted in 1940, serving three and half years in the military during World War II. He returned to his hometown in 1944 and was unemployed. While playing a football match, he attracted the attention of the district governor. The governor appointed the 23-year-old Güzelgöz as a caretaker at the Tahsin Ağa Library in Ürgüp, a post that had become vacant due to the retirement of an official.
Librarian career
Güzelgöz understood his position to be a librarian more than a caretaker of the nonfunctional library. He soon took out books from moist and dusty stores, and wrote letters asking for book donations. Although he successfully established a library, it drew no attention. He thought, "If the people do not come to the library, the library has to go to them". He decided to put a traveling library into practice in order to bring books directly to readers. He serviced people in many villages of Ürgüp, carrying his stock in wooden crates on a donkey. The two crates, labeled "Crate of Books on Lend", could contain 180 to 200 books. His official request for the creation of two assistant posts and a budget for donkey fodder was accepted by the governor on the condition that he would service at least five villages with his traveling library. The library building in Ürgüp was open only on Mondays and Fridays; on other workdays Güzelgöz was out circulating with his traveling library. He continued with his traveling library on donkey although he was mocked, and nicknamed "Mustafa the Librarian with Donkey". Books were lent out for two weeks, and were returned for another book at Güzelgöz' next visit to the same village. He ran his traveling library with three donkeys, three mules, and two horses, and serviced a total of 36 villages. After some time, he realized that the readers were only men. He understood that the announcement of his visit was made in the village cafe, which women did not attend. To attract the attention of women, Güzelgöz asked two world-leading sewing machine manufacturers for a donation in exchange for advertising their brands. He installed one Singer and nine Zenith sewing machines in the library building. He offered books on sewing, embroidery, fashion, cooking, and child care to woman villagers, who came to the library to sew their textiles. Güzelgöz' efforts began to see results. The villagers developed a habit of reading books, and even their book choices improved. In one village, people started to read classic books by Honoré de Balzac.
Social activities
Güzelgöz also pioneered many cultural innovations in the region. He organized sewing and carpentry courses in the library building. For people who were illiterate, he gave literacy courses in the Halkevi community center. He initiated folk dances, choir, and music band works, first cinema screenings, photography works, sports organizations, and a village newspaper. The daily Ulus reported in 1963 on the billboard newspaper initiated by Güzelgöz in one village.
Awards and honors
In 1963, the American Peace Corps Volunteers Association honored Güzelgöz with the "Service to Humanity Award", which was bestowed by U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The Peace Corps donated a 1960-make Willy's Jeep for use in the traveling library. The same year, Güzelgöz received the service award of "The Lane Bryant Internatıonal Volunteer Citation" from the U.S. In 1967, United States Ambassador to Turkey Parker T. Hart met Güzelgöz during his visit to Ürgüp, and donated a pickup truck to the library. Güzelgöz's life story was novelized in a book titled Eşekli ütüphaneci by Fakir Baykurt. In 2012, a commemorative statue of Güzelgöz, created by Eray Okkan, was erected in front of the Faculty of Education, Science and Letters building on the Marmara campus of Maltepe University in Istanbul.
Later years
Güzelgöz was forced to retire in 1972 at the age of 50 after a governmental investigation, which accused him of carrying out activities unrelated to his job and neglecting his official work. He left 12 libraries and a collection of around 15,000 books. During a visit to a library in Istanbul, he met the government inspector, who had prepared the negative investigation report on him. The inspector told him that "he was forced under pressure to do so". Güzelgöz died from heart failure on 18 February 2005 in the Nevşehir State Hospital, where he had been treated.
