Mountains cover much of the earth’s surface from the visible terrestrial peaks to the submerged marine ranges. Mountains form an integral part of many stories, films and works of art and they are often a key source of inspiration for artist and writers. Most people have a strong idea of what they would consider a mountain […]
Tag: culture
Plague! has arrived at the Library
I’m delighted to announce that our new exhibition is open! It’s free and will run until 29 May 2016. Plague! showcases eight contagious diseases that ravaged Scotland over the last 700 years, and explores the cultural history of society’s responses to epidemic outbreaks. We’re focusing on infectious diseases because of their devastating consequences for society as […]
Reading the World : Confessions of a Literary Explorer
In 2012, Ann Morgan set out to read a book from every country in the world, focusing mainly on contemporary novels. On setting herself this challenge, she faced a number of obstacles including a lack of English translations, issues over censorship and discovering that some countries had very few published works. Through the generosity of […]
Christmas: a history
Mark Connelly examines the traditions which have contributed to the modern Christmas as an icon of cultural and social history. The key elements of the modern Christmas evolved during the nineteenth century as a result of a complex range of social, economic and cultural forces. Among the themes of the book are its Anglo-German origins […]
Museum legs
(Photo credit: Hol Art Books) (Image above shows an illustration of someone lying down in a museum underneath a picture frame, with the title of the book, Museum legs and the authors name) Why do people get bored and tired in art museums and why does that matter? That is the question Amy Whitaker investigates […]