Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Çatal was born in 1978, Antalya. He began his academic career as a Research Assistant in 2000. He was promoted to Assistant Professor in 2010, Associate Professor in 2012, and Professor in 2018.

By this time, he has authored over 100 national and international articles, symposium papers, and book chapters. He has served as editor and associate editor in several national and international journals. He has also taken part as a researcher, consultant, and principal investigator in 20 scientific research projects supported by various institutions.

In addition to his academic assignments, Prof. Çatal has held several administrative positions, including Vocational School Director, Dean of the Faculty of Forestry, Department Chair, member of executive boards, and director of research and application centers.

Since 2018, he has been serving in international roles as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Council of European Foresters (CEF) and Vice President of the European Forestry Academic Society (EFAS). Between 2020 and 2024, he served as a Member of the Executive Board of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCTEA). During 2024–2025, he chaired the Council of Science and Technical Education within the Interuniversity Board of Turkey.

At present, Prof. Çatal serves as the Rector of Isparta University of Applied Sciences and as a Member of the Executive Board of the Interuniversity Board. He holds chair and board memberships in various non-governmental organizations, as well.

Coşkun Polat received his undergraduate degree in 1994 from the Department of Library Science, Faculty of Letters, Hacettepe University. In 1996, he began his academic career as a research assistant in the Department of Library Science at Atatürk University. He completed his master’s degree in 1999 and his Ph.D. in 2005 in the Department of Information Management at Hacettepe University.

He was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Library Science at Atatürk University in 2006, and promoted to Associate Professor in 2011. In 2014, he joined the Department of Information Management at Çankırı Karatekin University as an Associate Professor, and was promoted to Professor in 2016 at the same institution.

His research interests include information literacy, public libraries, reading habits, open access, university libraries, and content analysis. He has authored various publications and participated in several academic projects in these areas. He also serves on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals.

He is currently serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Çankırı Karatekin University.

Born in 1981 in Aydın, he completed his primary and secondary education in Aydın. He graduated from Middle East Technical University, Department of History. She worked as a copywriter and bilingual periodical editor in various agencies. In 2006, he started working as an Assistant Culture and Tourism Specialist at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and became a Culture and Tourism Specialist in 2010. She won the European Union Jean Monnet Scholarship. She graduated from the "Cultural Policy and Cultural Management" master's program at City University of London with the title "Digital Innovation in Not-for-Profit Arts Institutions and its Impact on the Arts and Culture Ecosystem and Policy Making Processes: A Case Study on the "National Theater Live" Application" and graduated with a "Distinction" degree. She then continued her academic studies at King's College London in the Cultural Policy and Cultural Industries PhD Program. He coordinated various cultural and literary promotion events abroad. He presented papers on literary tourism and cultural policies at various international academic meetings. He continues his academic studies on these subjects. He worked as the coordinator of literary activities at the Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center in London for a while. He served as the Counselor for Culture and Promotion in London. After working as the Head of the Publications Department and Deputy General Manager at the General Directorate of Libraries and Publications of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, he is currently working as the General Director.

Umida Teshabaeva has devoted more than 28 years to the development and modernization of libraries in Uzbekistan. Her innovative approach, leadership, and dedication have greatly contributed to the advancement of the country’s library system and have inspired many professionals in the field.

Her career began in 2006, when she was appointed Chief Librarian of the Department of Scientific Methodology at the National Library of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi. Over the years, she has held various key positions, including Head of Service, Deputy Director for Information and Library Services, and currently serves as the Director of the National Library of Uzbekistan.

In addition to her leadership role, Dr. Teshabaeva serves as the Chairman of the National Committee of the Memory of the World Programme of UNESCO of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Vice-President of the Library Assembly of Eurasia.  Throughout her career, Dr. Teshabaeva has demonstrated exceptional commitment to excellence, strategic vision, and a strong passion for fostering innovation in library management and services. She continues to play a leading role in strengthening international cooperation, promoting digital transformation, and inspiring the next generation of library professionals.

He completed his undergraduate education in 2010 at Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Economics, and his master's degree in 2015 at Gazi University Department of Economics, field of Economic Policies.
Between 2011 and 2013, he worked as an assistant expert in the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) Science Human Resources Support Department, where he was responsible for program management. In 2013, he began working as an assistant expert in the Research, Development, and Entrepreneurship Department of the Ministry of Development. In 2018, he became an expert with his thesis titled “Increasing the Effectiveness of Research Infrastructures in Turkey: Analysis and Recommendations.” Between 2018 and 2021, he served as an expert at the Presidency of Strategy and Budget of the Republic of Turkey for three years. Between 2021 and 2022, he served as the Director of the Investment Programming, Monitoring, and Evaluation Department, responsible for the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all public investments. Since October 2022, he has been serving as the Director of the Education Department, which is responsible for primary, secondary, and higher education policies and the investment budgets of these sectors. 
The Education Department evaluates the printed and electronic publications purchased annually by state universities and the investment proposals for library buildings.

Ayhan Tuğlu has completed his Bachelor's degree in the Department of Librarianship of the Faculty of Literature of Istanbul University and his Master's degree in the Department of Management and Organization of the Institute of Social Sciences of Marmara University. He worked as a manager at the Library/administrative units of Marmara University, Bahçeşehir University and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University. He has volunteered as a consultant in the establishment of many libraries.

In 2016, he started to establish the Presidential Library as the Library and Publications Director and continues as the Head of the Presidential Libraries Department.

İsmail ÇETİNKAYA, who graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Language, History and Geography, Department of Information and Records Management in 1998, completed his master's degree in Business Administration at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. He worked as a Researcher in the Ministry of Forestry's Ottoman Period Forestry Research Project and publication, as a Librarian at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and as an Instructor at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, and mainly conducted Medical Librarianship and Medical Documentation courses. Çetinkaya served as the Head of the Library and Documentation Department at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University between 2006 and 2021 and has been working as the Head of the Library and Documentation Department at Isparta University of Applied Sciences since January 19, 2021. Çetinkaya, who conducted the Science Board Membership and Information Literacy course in the Primary and Secondary Education Project Execution and Science Counseling Education Project (Science Counseling Workshop in Education) carried out by the TÜBİTAK Scientist Support Department in 2007-2008, and in 2014, he was appointed by the Higher Education Board to study the University Libraries Study. Group (Improving University Libraries and Setting Standards) and was among those who prepared the report titled “The Current Situation of University Libraries in Turkey Towards 2023, Problems, Standards and Suggestions for Solutions”. Çetinkaya, who has been serving as ANKOS Board Member since 2010, has been serving as ANKOS President since 05 August 2022. He continues to share his professional knowledge and experience by taking part in many national and international events in the field of librarianship and publishing. Çetinkaya is married and has one child.

Ertuğrul Çimen has a BS from Hacettepe University Faculty of Literature, Librarianship Department, and an MA from Kadir Has University, Social Sciences Institute, Finance, and Banking Program. His current position is the library director of MEF University.

His professional interests are academic library management, library consortia, license agreements for e-resources, library collaboration, resource sharing, document delivery, lifelong learning, and staff exchange programs for librarians.

He has held active roles in NGOs and professional organizations at both national and international levels. Ertuğrul Çimen currently serves as the Chair of the IFLA Regional Council and is a Member of the IFLA Governing Board. He is an editorial board member of the Information Discovery and Delivery Journal (Emerald Publishing).

In the past, he served as: President of the Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS), Executive Board Member of the Turkish Librarians Association (TLA), Information Coordinator and Secretary of the IFLA Document Delivery and Resource Sharing Standing Committee, Information Coordinator of the IFLA Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) Advisory Board, Chair of the IFLA Europe Regional Division Committee, and a Member of the IFLA Regional Council, Coordinator of the Sustainable Libraries Standing Committee of the University and Research Library Association (UNAK). He has published articles, presentations, book chapters, and research papers in different languages, such as English, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian, and Turkish.

He completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Istanbul-Üsküdar. He pursued his university education at Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, Department of History between 1985-1989. In October 1988, he began working as an Archive Officer at the Presidential Ottoman Archives. He completed his Master's degree in 1994 and his Doctorate in 2001 at Istanbul University. In September 1993, he was appointed as a Lecturer in the Department of History at Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. After completing his doctoral education, he started working as a faculty member in the Department of Archival Studies at Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters. In May 2004, he was appointed as the Head of Department at the Presidential Ottoman Archives Department. Following the end of his duty at the Prime Ministry, he started working at Marmara University. He currently continues his duty as the Head of Library and Documentation Department at Marmara University. Önder Bayır has 6 published books, 4 chapter authorships, and more than 50 published articles.

Sami Çuhadar completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Information and Document Management at Istanbul University, BA in Economics at Anadolu University, and his PhD studies in Information and Document Management at Çankırı Karatekin University.
Dr. Sami Cuhadar is the Library Director at Istanbul Bilgi University Library and e-Resources in Istanbul, Turkey. He teaches courses on “Research Methods, Artificial Intelligence, and Accessing Information Resources” at Istanbul Bilgi University.
Mr. Çuhadar, who is also active in non-governmental organizations in the field of Librarianship and Information Management, served as the President of the Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS), Board of Directors and Statistics Group member. He continues to work as ANKOS Artificial Intelligence Research Group and UNAK-Turkish Law Librarians Platform Coordinator. He has academic studies and publications on total quality management in libraries, distance learning, university libraries, legal information resources, information literacy, artificial intelligence, consortia, electronic resource management, and ranking systems.

Gültekin Gürdal currently serves as the Library Director at İzmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH), a role he has held for over 20 years. Gürdal completed his education in librarianship at Hacettepe University and holds a master's degree in business administration from Kocaeli University. Previously, he worked at prominent institutions such as Bilkent University, TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye), Sabancı University, and TOBB (The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye).

With over 15 years of experience in open access, open science, and open data, Gürdal served as the President of the Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS) between 2008 and 2012, and coordinated the ANKOS Open Access and Institutional Repositories Working Group from 2008 to 2018. He is also a member of the Open Science Committee, established by TÜBİTAK in 2015, and the Open Access and Open Science Working Group, formed by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) in 2018. Gürdal also coordinates the sub-working group "Türkiye Research Data and Open Data Task Force" and is a member of the ANKOS Artificial Intelligence Research Group.

Active in the international arena, Gürdal was involved in various phases of OpenAIRE, the European Union's open science infrastructure project, from 2011 to 2021. He was elected as a member of the OpenAIRE Board of Directors in 2021, a position he currently holds. Gürdal is also a member of the DSpace Leadership Group and serves as the Turkish national node representative within the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR). Furthermore, he is a partner in the EU projects PATTERN and DIRNA 'Development of Research Potential Through Institutional Academic Repository Network in Azerbaijan'.

Gürdal holds active memberships in many professional organizations, including the Turkish Librarians' Association (TKD), the University and Research Librarians' Association (ÜNAK), the European Association for Research Information Systems (EuroCRIS), and the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR).

Gürdal also possesses a strong entrepreneurial background; he is the founding partner of Research Ecosystems, an R&D company established within the IZTECH Technopark in 2021. With numerous national and international publications, Gürdal closely monitors and implements scientific and technological developments in the field of librarianship.

Tuba has been working in academic libraries for over 24 years at different capacities. She started her career as a systems librarian following her graduation from Indiana University with an MLS. Currently, she works as the library director position at Koç University which is one of the most prominent universities in Turkey.  Within the scope of this position, she manages 5 libraries in 3 different cities in the country. Collection development, e-resources management, library automation, resource sharing and scholarly communication are some of the areas she is responsible for.

She has been actively involved with the Turkish national university libraries consortium (ANKOS) governance, including as its President between 2016-2018. She is an active advocator of open science in the region.

She serves on various national, regional and international advisory boards. She is member of the IFLA Document Delivery and Resource Sharing Standing Committee.

Mujdat Soyturk is a Professor at Marmara University. He received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Computer Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. His research focuses on Connected Cars, V2X communications, Intelligent Transportation Systems, IoT, and Cyber-Physical Systems, with particular interest in cybersecurity, data protection, and the application of AI in these domains. He is the founder and director of the Vehicular Networks and Intelligent Transportation Systems (VeNIT) Research Lab, as well as BigTRI, a leading Turkish SME in connected car technologies. He has led several EU-funded projects and has numerous publications in his fields.

Bas Straub is an innovative, adaptable and solution-focused academic publishing professional with a wealth of experience in journal development, publishing management, society liaison, Open Access, and commercial strategy within both STM as well as HSS. Comprehensive knowledge of the research publishing landscape, with the ability to research and identify business opportunities, monetize content, and develop value-driven, tailored portfolios that drive both revenue growth and market-share. An analytical mind-set, recognising gaps in process and workflow, and developing solutions that create positive functional and financial impact. A strong network within the global scientific academic publishing- as well as academic community, building trust and rapport with a diverse range of key stakeholders in order to build personal credibility, company profile and portfolio position. An intuitive and empathetic leader, engaging, educating and empowering team members to maximise portfolio value and deliver excellence, promoting autonomy, whilst providing relevant coaching and support when required. A champion of strategic growth, taking ownership and accountability for workstreams, and creating positive, productive internal and external partnerships, in order to ensure maximum business contribution and financial return.

Dr. Gizem Gültekin-Várkonyi is an academic specializing in European Union law, digital policies, and the legal and ethical implications of emerging technologies. She holds a BA in Information Management from Hacettepe University and a Master’s degree in International Relations with a focus on EU law and economy from the University of Szeged, where she also completed her PhD on social robots and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Her research explores the intersection of law and technology, particularly the regulatory frameworks governing artificial intelligence, data protection, and risk assessment in digital environments.

Currently, she serves as an assistant professor at the University of Szeged, Faculty of Law. Her academic work focuses on EU digital policies, with a particular emphasis on AI regulation, GDPR, and technology-driven risk assessments. She regularly contributes to interdisciplinary discussions on law, ethics, and emerging technologies, aiming to bridge the gap between legal frameworks and technological advancements.

Burak Hekim completed his bachelor’s degrees in the Department of Information and Records Management at Istanbul University in 2009. He worked as a librarian at the Library and Documentation Department of Sakarya University from 2014 to 2016, and at the Library and Documentation Department of Istanbul University from 2016 to 2023. Since 2023, he has been continuing his career as a librarian at the Library and Documentation Department of Hacettepe University.
Since 2018, Burak Hekim has been serving as ANKOS Database Liasion, and since June 2024, he has also been a member of the ANKOS Statistics Working Group.

Özlem Çerkez graduated in 1994 from the Department of Library Science at the DTCF, Ankara University. After serving for many years in various university libraries in Ankara, she has been working as the Library Director at the Cyprus International University in Nicosia since 2020.

Üstün Berk Sezgin completed his bachelor’s degree in 2008 and master’s degree in 2015 at Ankara University - Department of Information and Records Management. In 2009, he worked as a sales consultant at Mikrobeta Yazılım, from 2010 to 2011 he worked as a librarian at Atılım University Library, and he worked as a librarian at Ankara University Library and Documentation Department from 2011 to 2017.

Since December 2017, Üstün Berk Sezgin has been working as a lecturer at the Middle East Technical University (METU) Library. Since November 2012, he has been an ANKOS Database Liasion, and between 2015 and 2017, he was a member of the ANKOS Academy Working Group. He has been a member of the ANKOS Database Assessment Group since August 2024.

Ilknur Erşen Aydın completed her undergraduate education at Hacettepe University The Department of Information Management.

She began her professional career in 2009 as an information supervisor at KPMG Turkey. Between 2012 and 2014, she worked at Galatasaray University Suna Kıraç Library. From 2014 to 2023, she worked as the Supervisor Librarian of Reference and Education Services and Internal Control Coordinator at Hacettepe University’s Health Sciences and Beytepe Libraries.

Since 2023, she has been working as the Supervisor Librarian of the e-Resource Services and Reference Services at the Istanbul Medeniyet University Library."

Since November 2017, İlknur Erşen Aydın has been the ANKOS Database Supervisor and since 2023, she has also been working in the ANKOS License Agreements Working Group."

Ece Helvacıoğlu completed her undergraduate studies in the Department of Information and Records Management at Ankara University, Faculty of Language, History and Geography (2006–2010), and received her Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA, 2010–2012) from the Graduate School of Social Sciences at Yaşar University.

Since 2010, Helvacıoğlu has been working at the Yaşar University Library and Documentation Center, where she currently serves as the Director of the Library and Documentation Center. Her responsibilities include library management, electronic resources, information services, research monitoring and evaluation, as well as academic performance and impact analysis.

To support her professional development, Helvacıoğlu has participated in more than 30 seminars, conferences, and training programs, and has also received training in quality management, bibliometrics, and project development. Through the Erasmus staff mobility program, she has gained international experience in Spain and the Czech Republic in the field of librarianship.

Academically active, Helvacıoğlu has authored over five publications, including three articles, one book chapter, and bibliographic works.

She also plays an active role in professional organizations. Helvacıoğlu is a member of the ANKOS Artificial Intelligence Research Group, and previously served as Database Coordinator (2015–2018) and Public Relations Coordinator (2016–2018) at ANKOS. She has also been a long-standing member of the Turkish Librarians’ Association (TKD), İzmir Branch, where she served on the Board of Directors (2012–2017) and currently serves on the Supervisory Board (since 2021).

Ece Tufanyazıcı completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in Information and Document Management at Istanbul University. She works as the Supervisor Librarian responsible for Databases and Serials at Istanbul Bilgi University Library. Since 2018, she has been an active volunteer at the Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS), serving as the database liaison for HeinOnline and Westlaw International, and as a member of the License Agreements Working Group.