Adnan Cahit Ötüken (1911–1972) was a civil servant who played a key role in the establishment of modern library science education and the founding process of the National Library in Türkiye. After receiving professional training in Germany, he assumed various responsibilities in systematizing library education in Türkiye, establishing institutional structures, and advancing the creation of the National Library. As an educator and bureaucrat, he provided technical contributions to professionalization processes and served in roles relating to the state’s cultural institutions.

Adnan Cahit Ötüken was born in 1911 in Manastır. His father, Doctor Binbaşı Ali Naşit Bey, and his mother, Lütfiye Hanım, provided his early upbringing. He completed his primary education at Kadıköy Osmangazi School, and his secondary and high school education at Kadıköy Middle School and Istanbul High School. In 1935, he graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University, majoring in Turkology and French Language and Literature. During the same years, he taught literature at several private schools and held various positions in student organizations.

In 1935, Ötüken briefly served on the Library Classification Commission under the chairmanship of Professor Helmut Ritter. In 1936, he was sent to Germany by the Ministry of National Education for specialized library training. He received theoretical and practical education at the Berlin State Library and the Deutsche Bücherei in Leipzig. After completing his four-year training in Germany, he returned to Türkiye in 1939 and briefly served as an assistant in Turkology at Istanbul University.

In 1941, Ötüken was appointed to the Directorate of Publications at the Ministry of National Education. During this tenure, technical and bureaucratic steps were taken toward establishing the National Library, and he participated in press and radio broadcasts to inform the public. On 15 April 1946, he established the National Library Preparation Office. In 1947, the library moved into a five-room building on Kocatepe Mithatpaşa Street. To secure necessary financial resources, the National Library Support Association was founded. The National Library was officially opened in 1948 and gained legal status through a law enacted in 1950.

Ötüken worked to institutionalize library science education within the Faculty of Language, History and Geography. The library science courses initiated in 1942 continued until 1952. In 1954, he facilitated the establishment of the Library Science Chair at Ankara University. This chair later evolved into the Department of Library Science, where Ötüken served as a faculty member until 1957.

In 1957, Ötüken was appointed Cultural Attaché to Germany. He served in the development of Türkiye-Germany cultural relations and was awarded the First Class Service Medal by the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1960, he returned to Türkiye and was reappointed as Director of the National Library. In 1965, he was appointed the first Undersecretary of the newly established Ministry of Culture. In this role, he oversaw initiatives such as elevating opera and ballet to independent general directorates and establishing the Folklore Institute. He retired in 1971 and passed away in Istanbul on 2 March 1972.

Ötüken authored two works detailing his experiences in the founding of the National Library and the professionalization of Turkish librarianship: “Millî Kütüphane Kurulurken” (1946) and “Millî Kütüphane Nasıl Kuruldu” (1955). These works provide detailed accounts of the library science challenges of the era and the establishment process. Additionally, he served as a consultant and founding member in the establishment of numerous public institutions and contributed to the formation of various cultural associations.