If you are researching your Scottish family history you might be interested to know that references to articles from The Scottish genealogist are indexed on our fully searchable free database Scottish Bibliographies Online (SBO). The Scottish Genealogist is a quarterly journal produced by the Scottish Genealogy Society. The journal contains interesting and informative articles on family history sources and archives as well as showcasing family history research on Scottish families.
Articles from 1987 to the present day have been indexed on SBO. You can view an alphabetical list of the articles from The Scottish genealogist here. Why not try carrying out your own keyword or subject search, for example, for the surname of the family that you are currently researching? If you locate any articles of interest you can view copies of The Scottish genealogist in the NLS reading rooms.
The Scottish genealogist is just one of over 100 Scottish journals that are regularly indexed on SBO. You can find out more about SBO here. SBO can be searched either through the SBO online catalogue or as part of the NLS AquaBrowser discovery tool.
Recent additions to the Scottish collections at the National Library of Scotland included Suzanne Rigg’s Men of spirit and enterprise : Scots and Orkneymen in the Hudson’s Bay Company, 1780-1821, which looks at the history of Scottish and, in particular, Orcadian involvement in the North American fur trade. The life and working conditions of the migrants is examined, as is the impact of their migration and the fur trade on the economy and local communities in Scotland and North America.
Basil Spence : buildings and projects by Louise Campbell, Miles Glendinning and Jane Thomas examines the life, career and works of one of Britain’s best known architects. Born to Scottish parents in India, Spence was educated in Edinburgh, studying at George Watson’s College and the Edinburgh College of Art. Once qualified, he established his architectural practice in Edinburgh and was based in the city for many years. Spence’s works include Gribloch House in Stirlingshire, Glasgow Airport, the Hutchesontown C flats in the Gorbals and the Scottish Widows offices at Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh. Outside of Scotland his significant works include Coventry Cathedral, the British Embassy in Rome and the extension to the New Zealand parliament in Wellington. You can learn more about the life and work of Sir Basil Spence at the Sir Basil Spence Archive Project.
The life and work of Scottish poet Ian Hamilton Finlay is examined in Ian Hamilton Finlay : selections edited and introduced by Alec Finlay. This book details the evolution of Ian Hamilton Finlay’s work from early lyrical poetry, plays and stories to his well known concrete poetry and garden at Little Sparta.
Glasgow’s Aye Write! book festival comes to an end this weekend. For me one of the most interesting aspects this year has been the launch of Scotland’s Bookshelf.
It is a simple idea – a panel of experts have selected 20 books – 2 per decade of the best of one hundred years of Scottish books. And more than that they have published a free book – introduced by Rosemary Goring - with selections from all of them and the longlists! What a fabulous introduction to modern Scottish literature and more.
Of the 20 names 17 are novelists, 3 are poets, 1 is a historian, 4 are women, 1 is a Gaelic writer, and 7 of them are still writing. Lorna Moon, A.J. Cronin, and Alexander Trocchi are 3 of the welcome surprises perhaps and so is the distinguished historian Christopher Smout who represents the 1960s along with Dame Muriel Spark.
The book can be downloaded from the Aye Write! website.
Scottish interest items recently received by the National Library of Scotland include Scotland and Poland : historical encounters 1500-2010 by Tom Devine and David Hesse. Published by John Donald, this book explor
es connections between the two countries over the last 500 years.
Jo Clifford’s play The tree of knowledge imagines what David Hume and Adam Smith would make of 21st century Scotland. Published by Nick Hern Books, The tree of knowledge was commissioned by and first performed at the Traverse.
Skeem life : growing up in the Seventies by Gary Robertson is a humourous account of the author’s early life in the tough housing estates of Dundee. He describes a relatively carefree era where ‘getting up to no good’ was all part of growing up. Skeem life is published by black & White.
A further recent addition was Farming and the land, volume 2 in the Scottish life and society : a compendium of Scottish ethnology series. Alexander Fenton and Kenneth Veitch are the editors of this volume which looks at changes in agriculture and land use across the whole of Scotland and the impact of these developments on rural life. Farming and the land is published by John Donald.
The Scottish witch-hunts took place between 1563 and 1736. Over 3,800 Scots were accused of witchcraft and it is likely that around two-thirds of those accused were executed. If you are interested in finding out more about this fascinating subject why not have a look at our new film discussing the Scottish witch-hunts and related material from Modern Scottish Collections.
There is also a short article about the Scottish witch-hunts and how to use our free resource, Scottish Bibliographies Online, to locate related material in the Winter 2011 edition of the Discover NLS magazine.
(Image from Witchcraft in early modern Europe by Lawrence Normand and Gareth Roberts, University of Exeter Press, 2000)
To mark 122 years of the Forth Bridge we’ve created a small display bringing together a variety of items relating to the famous railway bridge and rail travel in Scotland. The display includes books about the construction and history of the bridge, material produced for the centenary in 1990 and some novels and books of poetry that reference the bridge, as well as a small selection of railway tourist brochures from the early twentieth century.
The display can be found in the cases outside the doors to the Reading Rooms in George IV Bridge until 28th March 2012. You can also view fascinating images showing the Forth Bridge under construction on our website.
Should you wish to discover further material on the Forth Bridge or railways in Scotland, you can find references to books, chapters and articles on Scottish Bibliographies Online.
Last summer we added to the collection some lovely Robert Burns works by the lettering artist Liz Mathews .
Today’s blog entry from Liz Mathews gives a great impression of the delights hidden within the covers of these Robert Burns inspired artist’s books.
It is that time of the year again when we ponder the difference between a tumshie, a neep, and a swede.
Appropriately enough on our national day for Robert Burns, I am meeting Michael Hance the Director of the Scots Language Centre, to discuss their work and Scots language digital resources, and to look at ways we might work together using oor ain collections. Here’s some classy interpretations of Burns gathered together by the Scots Language Centre – a wee sing-song.
Meanwhile poets are following the Burns tradition in his old home and writing on pub windows again in Dumfries
And here’s a reminder from our collections at the Scottish Screen Archive that not all Burns Suppers are the same … here’s tae the Immortal Memory … and tae Cliff Richard!
The 2011 volume of Scottish Gaelic Studies has now been indexed on Scottish Bibliographies Online (SBO). SBO provides references to articles within this volume about the Scottish Gaelic language. There are articles concerning the historical usage and development of Gaelic, as well as discussions about collectors of Scottish Gaelic poetry and oral tradition, such as Duncan Kennedy and Alexander Irvine. The value of early Gaelic poetry as a historical source for investigating the history of kingship in early medieval Scotland is also investigated. Scottish Gaelic Studies, which contains articles in English as well as Gaelic, is published by the University of Aberdeen.
To find references to material written in Scottish Gaelic (including books, chapters, articles and more) you can search the Bibliography of Scottish Gaelic (BOSG), which is part of SBO. All of SBO is searchable via the National Library of Scotland’s search discovery tool.
With 2012 newly upon us, work is progressing on our exhibition for the summer which – in succession to the current Beyond Shakespeare – will explore Scotland at the movies.
Already there has been much viewing of film clips from the collections, examination of old cinema artefacts, and unearthing of books, fan magazines, photographs and posters. The exhibition will look at the experience of going to the cinema in Scotland over the years, and how Scotland has appeared on film courtesy of our local filmmakers and imaginative folk from further afield.
Those who like a wee song and dance on a grey winter day may care to take a peek at this forthcoming attraction – ladies and gentlemen, we present –
Brigadoon!