Collated by Jamie McIntosh. The council area of Renfrewshire sits to the south of the River Clyde and is bounded by five other local councils within the central south-west region of Scotland. First emerging as a county in the early 15th century through a land grant by King Robert III, it would then go on to take the form of the historic County of […]
Category: 20th-century items
Zoom into Falkirk
Collated by Moray Teale. The Falkirk council area was formed in 1996 when the Central Region was divided into several parts. Falkirk boasts many varied attractions from the ruins of the Antonine Wall, Callendar House and Blackness Castle to the engineering feats of the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Falkirk Wheel. More recently it has become famous for the […]
Zoom into Perth and Kinross
The county of Perth, formerly known as Perthshire, sits at the heart of Scotland, and its vast geographic size has seen it called ‘the big county.’ It existed as an administrative county from 1890 until 1930, when it was linked with Kinross-shire which, in direct contrast to its neighbour, is one of Scotland’s smallest counties. The county town is Perth, and a large number […]
Lost Piano Concerto Found, and an Unexpected Musical Connection
A year has passed since National Library of Scotland staff began remote working due to the COVID-19 crisis. The adaptability of the Library’s personnel to their new circumstances and the use of Microsoft Teams, Zoom video conferencing, and the accessing of files and databases through a VPN (virtual private network) has enabled the mission, work […]
Zoom into Dundee City
Collated by Lorna Black. Dundee is the fourth largest city in Scotland and lies on the north bank of the River Tay. Dundee is famous for three Js: Jute, Jam and Journalism. During the peak of jute production the city was nicknamed Juteolopis. It is also known for the Tay Bridge Disaster and RSS Discovery. […]
Women’s History Month Reading List
This blog post focuses on a selection of contemporary women writers in Scotland and their contribution to Scottish literature, society and history. Note: The links included in this blog are to the catalogue record for the books in the Library. Leila Aboulela is an Aberdeen-based playwright and poet. Leila Aboulela was born in Cairo, grew up in Khartoum and moved in her mid-twenties to Scotland. Leila’s work […]
Zoom Into North Ayrshire
Collated by Emma Boyd North Ayrshire is a council area in the south-west of Scotland. Set along the coast of the Firth of Clyde and with a population of over 135,000 at the last census; it is the most populous of the three Ayrshire regions. The area was formed in 1996 from the former Cunninghame district, and includes the Isle of […]
Zoom Into East Ayrshire
Collated by Emma Boyd East Ayrshire is a largely rural council area in the south-west of the country with a population of over 122,000 at the last census. The area was formed in 1996, from the former Kilmarnock and Loudoun, and Cumnock and Doon Valley districts; and the majority of people live in or around […]
Exploring climate change, environmental damage and race.
Through newspaper and journal articles accessed via Ethnic NewsWatch, this blog post by our Climate Crisis Intern explores the relationship between climate change, environmental damage, and race. “Global climate change is experienced very differently across race, gender, class and nationality.” So begins a 2012 article from Race, Gender & Class, a journal available on Ethnic […]
Zoom Into Angus
The Modern-day council area of Angus traces its name to an eighth century Pictish king, Óengus son of Fergus (ruled 732-761). Óengus (Angus) hailed from Circinn, one of the four principal Pictish kingdoms roughly coextensive with the modern county of Angus. The signing of the Declaration of Arbroath at Arbroath Abbey in 1320 marked Scotland’s establishment as an independent nation, and so Angus has become known as the birthplace of […]