National Library of Scotland

leaf made with autumn leaves

pine cone covered with seeds to make a bird feeder

Are you feeling crafty? Drop by our George IV Bridge building 2 - 4pm today for autumn crafts for all ages. Make a pinecone bird feeder, try some autumn leaf craft or relax with mindful colouring.

What's on filtered by what | National Library of Scotland Find out about our events and exhibitions in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and online.

📍 George IV Bridge Building
🗓️ Sunday, 28 September
See our main building, including our Reading Rooms.

No booking required. Just drop in. Find out more on our website > www.nls.uk/whats-on/?t=...

A library themed snakes and ladder games on a table.

The National Library of Scotland's Causewayside Building.

Explore the National Library of Scotland for Doors Open Days 🔎

This September, we're taking part in Doors Open Days. It's your chance for a free, behind-the-scenes look at our buildings.

📍 Causewayside Building
🗓️ Saturday, 27 September
Go behind the scenes! Try out our library games and activities

Love Libraries – Library volunteers offer support and advice for those affected by cancer Supporting the health and wellbeing of the local community is a key role of our public libraries.

Read more about librarians providing support for those affected by cancer in our #LoveLibraries case studies > www.cilips.org.uk/advocacy-cam...

#LoveLibraries #NLS100

People can access a wide range of advice and resources on a range of conditions, whether they themselves are affected or they want to know more to support a friend or family member.

Volunteers offer practical, emotional and financial support and signposting at libraries the length and breadth of Scotland, from Arbroath to Wishaw.

A Macmillan volunteer sits with a member of the public, looking at a book together.

How can libraries be places of support for everyone in a community? 🫂

Supporting the health and wellbeing of the local community is a key role of our public libraries. A hugely popular and valued information service is the one offered by Macmillan Cancer Support.

OUTWITH in Aberdeen: 'Songs and Fancies' | National Library of Scotland A free display of John Forbes' 'Songs and Fancies' (1682) in Aberdeen Art Gallery accompanied by a series of local events.

Learn more about the display > www.nls.uk/whats-on/out...

John Forbes' 'Songs and Fancies', published in Aberdeen in 1682, captured some of the most beloved songs from Renaissance Scotland in print for the first time.

This book and an accompanying events programme will be in Aberdeen from 13 September 2025 to 4 January 2026.

Songs and Fancies lies open in a display case, with a person kneeling down to look at it closely. The photograph is taken close up, with the book in the foreground.

We're coming to Aberdeen! 🥳

Our OUTWITH programme kicks off this Saturday by bringing our earliest publication of Scottish secular music to Aberdeen Art Gallery (whose Cowdray Hall concert venue is also having a big birthday this year).

Sgeulachdan Ghaisgeil: Scottish Gaelic heroic stories in the Scottish landscape | National Library of Scotland Learn about the complex history of heroic characters through the Scottish landscape in this talk by PhD researcher Ceit Langhorne.

Bidh an t-oileanach PhD againn Ceit Langhorne a' bruidhinn aig an Leabharlann Nàiseanta a-màireach.

Our PhD student Ceit Langhorne is speaking at @natlibscot.bsky.social tomorrow.

'Sgeulachdan Ghaisgeil: Scottish Gaelic heroic stories in the Scottish landscape'.

https://nls.pulse.ly/qdusiaygei

Love Libraries – Summer storytelling sessions are a huge success Bookbug and storytelling sessions have been going on the road in the Borders to help reach more children and build partnerships with local organisations.

Read more about Summer storytelling sessions in the Borders in our #LoveLibraries case studies > www.cilips.org.uk/advocacy-cam...

#LoveLibraries #NLS100

The sessions aim to create inclusive, stimulating environments for children and families, explore the use of some outdoor venues for storytelling, and foster reading, play and community well-being.

A graphic promoting the National Library of Scotland's 'Love Libraries' campaign, with the slogan 'Find your next chapter' in the middle of the image, with graphic depictions of families reading, exploring, and playing in a library setting surrounding the text.

Where do you go to listen to stories? 🗣️

Bookbug and storytelling sessions have been going on the road in the Borders to help reach more children and build partnerships with local organisations.

Map of Great Britain by Abraham Ortelius. 1646

This #MapMonday can we tempt you with #MoreMaps?
We've just added early maps of Scotland and Great Britain, as well as town and county plans. These maps are from our Charlotte Smith collection, acquired by the Library in 2017. maps.nls.uk/additions/#184

Learn more about the donation of Cricket Scotland's archive > www.cricketscotland.com/Article/1af8...

Items of interest include minute books, scorebooks, publications and programmes across men’s, women’s and junior cricket. The archive is now available to search in our catalogue and can be consulted in our buildings.

A photograph of a cricket scorebook, donated by Cricket Scotland and now part of the National Library of Scotland's collections.

We’re delighted that Cricket Scotland has chosen the National Library to be the new home of their archive 🏏

The records cover the history of the Scottish Cricket Union and Cricket Scotland, from 1908 to the present day.

Love Libraries – Libraries help tackle cost-of-living crisis through Lend and Mend hubs Free equipment to help repair, reuse and upcycle everyday items is being offered as part of a trailblazing sustainability project at libraries across Scotland.

Read more about how library Lend and Mend hubs are helping shape a circular economy in our #LoveLibraries case study > www.cilips.org.uk/advocacy-cam...

A person sits, holding up a repaired quilt, next to a sewing machine. The wall behind reads, 'Lend + Mend'

The Lend and Mend network, managed by the Scottish Libraries and Information Council (SLIC), covers Perth, Aberdeen, Forfar, Midlothian, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Orkney, Edinburgh and Inverclyde.

A person stands holding a piece of fabric with 'Stitch it, don't ditch it.' Sewn into it.

‘Lend and Mend’ hubs aim to support and encourage communities to keep items for longer rather than throw them away. The projects not only promote a shift towards a circular economy but are also helping people save money during the cost-of-living crisis.

Next to a banner that reads 'Fix it at your local library', a person stands over a table covered in tools, working to repair a broken laminator.

Reduce, reuse, recycle, repair! ♻️🧵

Free equipment to help repair, reuse and upcycle everyday items is being offered as part of a trailblazing sustainability project at libraries across Scotland.

Would you like to create lists of locations and features, and view these as distributions on our historic map layers? If so, discover new import and export tools for our Map Images Website maps.nls.uk/additions/#183 #MapMonday

Hi! Thanks for your query (and glad the resource is useful). Please get in touch with our librarians about this at auth.nls.uk/contact/ask-...

Thanks for your query - please get in touch with our librarians at auth.nls.uk/contact/ask-...

The film is narrated by the legendary voice of Moultrie Kelsall. The film is preserved on 35mm in our archives, and features in our Dear Library exhibition.

What's your favourite library memory? 💞

Time-travel to @orkneylibrary.bsky.social in 1957 ✨📖

This clip from ‘Life in the Orkneys’ shows a box of books being packed up in Kirkwall Library to go to families on more rural islands. The box contains books for everyone in the family.

Love Libraries – Digital Skills Support & Databank provision across Dundee With more and more services and information online, having digital access and skills is crucial.

Read more about how libraries are supporting digital skills development in Dundee in our #LoveLibraries case study > www.cilips.org.uk/advocacy-cam...

This includes a lack of access to IT hardware, internet connectivity and limited digital literacy and skills.

Dundee’s libraries are helping to tackle the issue of digital exclusion and improve people’s digital access and knowledge by offering kit, classes and clubs.

A volunteer in the Opportunities Room in Dundee Library, sits at a computer that is used to support people's digital skill development.

Since 2016, Dundee Libraries have helped more than 21,000 people with their digital skills 🖥️🤳🏻

With more and more services and information online, having digital access and skills is crucial. But 19 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have a high likelihood of digital exclusion.