How does money inform? A study on Turkish banknotes: The National Library of Turkey Example

Money is a very important and precious medium of exchange which has been used for nearly 2500 years. This medium of exchange consisted of metal coins until the 17th century, and later on coins were used together with paper notes. Money, as well as being the most important medium of exchange, is the symbol of a state's economic and commercial vision, wealth, culture, national values, political viewpoint and international influence. Money is both an information source and a medium for the recording of information. In this paper the main characteristics of paper money and its usefulness as an information source will be studied along with a comparative analysis of the organization and presentation of the banknote collection of the Turkish National Library and the banknote collections of the German, American, British and French national libraries.