In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, Glasgow, 31 October – 12 November 2021 (COP26), the National Galleries of Scotland and National Library of Scotland are inviting you to respond creatively to works from the national collections to visualise how Scotland has been and will continue to be impacted by climate change, unless decisive action is taken.
Zoom Into Edinburgh City
What do you think of when you think of the city of Edinburgh? Perhaps the ancient castle looming over the city from Castle Rock. Or the plethora of festivals that take place in the city’s streets every year. Maybe you know Scotland’s capital city best as the seat of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. But what else has taken place within […]
Zoom into Fife
Collated by Peter Findlay. Aince a muckle pairt o Scotland’s industrial hertlaund, I recently heard “Fife” cried, “Scotland’s enchanting kingdom.” Ye micht be gast frae this nameliheid, hooiver, juist hae anither keek at this region afore makin judgement. For at truly is a pairt o oor country, whaur baith Fifers and veesitors alike, can gang on a byous an timeless journey o discovery. Believe me, […]
Zoom into North Lanarkshire
Collated by Charlotte James Robertson.North Lanarkshire borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow’s commuter towns. The South of the county has its roots in the historic county of Lanarkshire, which has existed since the time of King David I, ruler of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. In the 18th […]
Walter Scott and The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border
15 August 2021 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of Scotland’s most famous authors, who in his lifetime achieved global renown and for millions came to represent Scotland and Scottish culture. Sir Walter Scott’s fame may have declined somewhat over the last 100 years, and his works are not so widely read, […]
Zoom into South Lanarkshire
The former county of Lanarkshire was covered by North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Glasgow. The county has historically also been called Clydesdale after the River Clyde. In 1975, South Lanarkshire separated, and currently borders the City of Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, the Scottish Borders and West Lothian. The larger […]
Zoom into Aberdeenshire
Collated by Alison Leslie. Modern Aberdeenshire encompasses historic Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and part of Banffshire. To the south it borders Angus and Perth & Kinross, to the west Highland and Moray, and to the east Aberdeen City.
The Puzzle of the Paisley Pensioners
This short blog uncovers the story of Anchor Pensioners 1965, a recent addition to the moving image catalogue, and illustrates how public engagement is key to understanding some of the unique archival material in the Library’s collections. The film came in to the archive a few years ago as a consequence of a house move. […]
Zoom into Highland
Collated by Lucy Church. The Highland Council unitary authority is the largest by area in the UK, covering a third of Scotland’s land area, and 11% of the UK’s. Although it is the 7th largest council in Scotland by population, it has the lowest population density in the country. Its administrative centre is Inverness, but there […]
Collections available for music making
While the National Library of Scotland is a reference-only library and doesn’t lend music, mass digitisation has seen the set up of ‘Special Collections of Printed Music’ on our Digital Gallery. You can browse the different sections of this site or you can search for specific titles or composer’s names. Over the past year we […]