If you request an item from the Library’s archive and manuscript collections or stream a film through our website, chances are you’ll come into contact with the history of Scottish working people. Whether it’s the crafting of materials for medieval manuscript illuminations, ledgers documenting the work of crofters, plans used by the builders of Scotland’s […]
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The life and poetry of Phillis Wheatley Peters
As part of Black History Month the Library has a display in the Special Collections Reading Room (SCRR) celebrating the work of Phillis Wheatley Peters. Peters was a talented poet and believed to be the first Black American to publish a book of poetry. This blog will look at her life and poetry. Born possibly […]
Salmon in Sápmi: John Francis Campbell’s Scandinavian Journals
From the middle of the nineteenth century, Norway became a popular destination for aristocratic British fishermen. They became known there as “salmon lords”. John Francis Campbell (1821-1885) was one of them but he did more than live a life of leisure. He was a noted linguist and folklorist, collecting Gaelic folktales, songs, anecdotes and more.
Refugee Week at the National Library — Sound and Voice
Scotland has three official languages, but countless others have echoed through its streets and floated over its airwaves. From poetry to protest chants, the speech and song of the immigrants and refugees who have made their homes in Scotland have enriched the soundtrack of Scottish life. Pause for a moment to imagine the long-gone soundscape […]
A Natural Treasure
Isobel Wylie Hutchison features in our ‘Treasures of the National Library of Scotland’ exhibition. Her diaries, manuscripts, photographs, artwork and film all reveal a woman who loved to travel, but also one whose connection with the outdoors was important: I had heard the call of the wild, on star-lit nights under the Northern Lights. I […]
Changing gender in Metamorphoses
Ovid’s Metamorphoses has almost 12,000 lines and covers over two hundred and fifty Greek Myths. As the name suggests each of these myths involves some kind of transformation for the characters within it. Some of these transformations are from mortal to immortal, from human to animal and from human to plant, as well as a variety […]
Harry Potter and the 80 translations
The National Library of Scotland’s new Treasures exhibition in Edinburgh includes an array of translations of the first Harry Potter novel. These translations show that the Harry Potter books are a global success, published and read in almost every corner of the the world. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling (1997) (or […]
Rare and Fascinating Beekeeping Books
In the summer of 2021, a generous donation of beekeeping works was made to the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association (SBA) from the bookseller, John Kinross. After discussions with the librarian of the SBA’s circulating library held at Fountainbridge Public Library, it was decided that twenty-eight of the rarest and most valuable titles would become additions to […]
The Oscars come to the National Library
With the 94th Academy Awards upon us at the end of March, what better time to explore the Library’s film collections and discover a few unexpected connections to the Oscars… A trio of Scottish ‘Best Live Action Shorts’ Seawards the Great Ships (1960) was the first Scottish film to win an Oscar, for best Live […]
LGBTQ+ Representation within the Moving Image Archive
The Library’s Moving Image Archive at Kelvin Hall aims to collect films of historical value and that represent the diversity of people living and working in Scotland, as well as historical and ongoing development of screen practice in Scotland. Despite this wide scope, there’s much to be said about what’s missing. As inclusion of all […]