National Library unveils centenary programme

The National Library of Scotland has announced it will mark its 100th birthday with a programme of events and initiatives throughout 2025.

The Edinburgh institution was established by an Act of Parliament in 1925 and has since amassed and cared for a collection of more than 50 million items spanning centuries on behalf of the people of Scotland.

A nationwide Love Libraries campaign will highlight the importance of libraries and encourage people to show love for their local resource from around Valentine’s Day.

A major centenary exhibition, Dear Library, celebrating libraries and what people love about books and reading, is also set to open in June.

Writers Val McDermid and Damian Barr are also set to be named Centenary Champions this year.

National librarian Amina Shah said: “A century ago, we were established in the spirit of egalitarianism, where our founders – including Sir Alexander Grant – held the firm belief that the people of Scotland deserved a national library to call their own, one which anyone living here could access.

“The Act of Parliament states that we exist to collect and preserve the national collections, and make them accessible to the public through our reading rooms, exhibitions and other means of engaging people with Scotland’s culture and heritage.

“We increased our efforts to reach more and new people with the collections in recent years with great success, and our intention is to accelerate this during the year of our 100th birthday by working in partnership with Scotland’s network of amazing libraries.

“And so, I’m delighted to announce our centenary programme – a nationwide libraries campaign, our major exhibition, our national tour – all of which have the potential to connect with every individual across the country.

“It is our ambition that the impact our centenary programme will have on communities throughout Scotland will continue far beyond 2025.”