Photograph by Zach Dyson. The choice: James Leslie Mitchell, Spartacus (London, 1933) Chosen by: Ian Scott, Curator in General Collections Read or download this book from the Lewis Grassic Gibbon page on our digital gallery http://digital.nls.uk/lewis-grassic-gibbon-books/archive/205174226 where you will find this novel alongside the other books James Leslie Mitchell published during his lifetime both under […]
Zoom into Clackmannanshire
Collated by Charlotte James Robertson. This time in our ‘Zoom into…’ series the spotlight is on Clackmannanshire. Affectionately known as ‘The Wee County’ it is mainland Scotland’s smallest council area by population. Clackmannanshire borders the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross. The town of Clackmannan was the county town up until 1822 when Alloa became the main administrative centre. […]
Curators’ Favourites: The Travels of Cyrus
The choice: Andrew Michael Ramsay, A New Cyropaedia; or The Travels of Cyrus. (Edinburgh, 1729). Chosen by: Robert Betteridge, Rare Books Curator (Eighteenth-Century Printed Collections) 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, […]
21st Century Periods
In early 2020, following the Government’s Period Poverty Bill and the subsequent Let’s Call Periods, Periods campaign, we committed to supplying free sanitary products in our buildings. By happy coincidence, General Collections curators Dora Petherbridge and Jan Usher had been working with Professor Bettina Bildhauer and Dr Camilla Mørk Røstvik of St Andrews University, who […]
Celebrating Scottish Publisher Legacies at the Edinburgh Book Festival
The weekend saw the launch of the Edinburgh Book Festival 2020, an online pageant of literary events about the latest page-turners including several events by authors signed to Scottish publishers. From Canongate to 404 Ink and other greats in between, publishers are essential to keeping the National Library of Scotland’s catalogue full of the latest […]
Zoom into Na h-Eileanan Siar
Time to step into the rich history and culture of Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles or Outer Hebrides). Na h-Eileanan Siar is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The inhabited islands of the Western Isles include: Lewis and Harris, South Uist, North Uist, Benbecula, Barra, Great Bernera, Berneray, Vatersay, Baleshare, North Grimsay, […]
Curators’ Favourites: Alasdair Alpin MacGregor, The Peat Fire Flame
The choice: The Peat Fire Flame Chosen by: Paula Williams, Curator, Maps, Mountaineering & Polar Collections Read or download this book from our Digital Gallery. Welcome to the latest of our fortnightly series introducing some favourites from our collections for you to enjoy reading, all freely available online. The Peat Fire Flame is a collection of folk-tales from the Highlands and […]
Zoom into the Shetland Islands
Collated by Veronica Bell. The Shetland Islands are the most northerly part of the British Isles, lying in the North Atlantic between the British mainland, the Faroe Islands and Norway. The main town, Lerwick, lies only six degrees of latitude from the Arctic Circle.
Pressing forward
At the National Library, we delight in seeing the reactions of visitors to our exhibitions, in welcoming people to our reading rooms, and constantly turning the page on materials that make up the nation’s permanent collection. It’s a privilege to share in the discoveries made by people visiting the Library that help us all to […]
Curators’ Favourites: Reminiscences of Thomas Marshall of Berwick
The choice: Reminiscences of Thomas Marshall of Berwick, (Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1835) Chosen by: Graham Hogg, Curator (19th-Century Printed Collections and Photo-graphs), Rare Books, Maps and Music Collections 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, […]