According to an article in “The Times” published on 26th January 2021 the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a revival in Spiritualism. This is not surprising as historically when people have had to deal with the untimely death of family and friends Spiritualism has made a comeback. Spiritualism is a belief that spirits of the […]
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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 […]
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 […]
Zoom into South Ayrshire
Collated by Elaine Brown South Ayrshire came into existence as a unitary authority in 1996 and comprises the south western corner of the historical county of Ayrshire. It ranges from built-up in the north, where it is home to Glasgow International Airport at Prestwick, to rich agricultural land in the south. Where to find local collections: Scottish […]
Zoom Into East Lothian
East Lothian, known as Haddingtonshire until 1921, sits to the east of Edinburgh. Local Government Reorganisation in 1975 saw it gain the coastal burgh of Musselburgh from neighbouring Midlothian. That town is now the largest in the county, closely followed by Dunbar and its county town of Haddington. Its situation between Edinburgh and England has seen it witness some of Scotland’s most […]
Black History Month and eResources
As the creating content intern for the National Library, I’m working on creating an online media centre and expanding our media contacts. My work will focus on researching up-and-coming journalists, writers and art curators from a range of backgrounds across the UK and beyond. I aim to connect Black creators and journalists from across Scotland, […]
Don’t Have Nightmares… When archive films get scary
Dr Emily Munro, National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive Watch our Halloween video This compilation was made for Halloween and, inspired by the footage we have in the moving image archive, references American ‘B’ movies from the 1950s. The compilation includes extracts from many different films and, in particular, work by Wishaw filmmaker Enrico […]
Curators’ Favourites: Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Amateur Emigrant
The choice: Robert Louis Stevenson – The Amateur Emigrant (Edinburgh, 1895) Chosen by: Anette Hagan, Rare Books Curator (Early Printed Collections to 1700) Read or download this book from our Digital Gallery. Welcome to the latest of our new fortnightly series where we introduce you to some favourites from our collections for you to enjoy reading, all freely available online. This […]
Doors Open Day: Through ‘The Void’ to Libberton’s Wynd
During Doors Open Day, we try to take visitors to hitherto unknown parts of the National Library building at George IV Bridge. ‘The Void’ is the final destination of our tours on Doors Open Day – but what is ‘The Void’? ‘The Void’ is effectively a sub-street space between the structures of the Library building […]