We've just added #MoreMaps to our website 🗺️ Newly online maps provide detailed coverage of large parts of India as well as the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Burma/Myanmar and Pakistan in the first half of the 20th century. Explore the maps > maps.nls.uk/additions/#201 #India #MapMonday

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This #MapMonday, explore this 1730 map of the Forth 🌊 Made by John Adair, the map shows the "River and Frith [sic] of Forth" - perfect for #StarWarsDay! #MayTheForthBeWithYou Explore the map > maps.nls.uk/view/543

Discover Fort William in 1800 with this detailed plan by George Langlands 🏰 The original map is owned by @westhighlandmuseum.bsky.social, who have kindly given permission for it to be shared on our map website. Explore the map > maps.nls.uk/view/270631787

You can discover the world on our maps website 🌎 If you'd like guidance on searching, comparing, printing, and annotating over 400,000 maps, book your place now for our free 'Navigating the Maps Website' webinar. 📆 3-4pm, Wednesday 29 April 📌 Free Book > www.nls.uk/whats-on/nav... #MapMonday

Teachers and educators - we have an event for you! 🍎 Join us for a free Twilight Tour of your National Library. Behind the scenes, treasures, and a look at our schools programme. Plus biscuits 🍪 📅 5-6:30pm, Wednesday 29 April 📌 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh 🎟️ Free, book at the link below

What do you do, in 15th-century Scotland, when the household priest behaves badly? If you're Isobel, Countess of Argyll, you might just write a poem about it. A very frank poem 😳

This week is your last chance to see our 'Dear Library' exhibition - and get some knitting inspo 👀

This #MapMonday explore historic Linlithgowshire in great detail 🔎 You can now view a georeferenced layer of Ordnance Survey 25-inch mapping from the 1850s on our maps website. Explore the maps > maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/...

Our exhibition Dear Library closes on 25 April. If you haven't yet visited, this is your final chance to experience hundreds of love letters written by visitors to Scotland's libraries – and to leave your own. 💌

This clip from 'Island of the Big Cloth' (1971) shows traditional dyeing in the Highlands 🎨 At the beginning of the clip, you can see someone scraping crottle, a type of lichen, directly from rocks.

Dear Library Story Sessions are back! This time with a focus on stories for children aged 6 to 10 years old 📚🚀 Come along to hear stories from fantastic, contemporary children's authors. Meet a cast of unique characters, hear about some daring adventures, and be transported to new settings!

The amazing, detailed Ordnance Survey 25-inch 1st edition mapping for Lanarkshire is now available as a georeferenced layer. maps.nls.uk/additions/#197 This allows you compare the 1850s maps with later editions in our Side by Side viewer. maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/... Now on to the next county...

Can you spot the bunny in this 1848 zoological map? 🐇 Made by Alexander Keith Johnston, the map shows the distribution of 'rodentia' (animals with a single pair of incisors on the upper and lower jaw) and 'ruminantia' (grazing animals with a specific digestive systems) across the world. #MapMonday

Tomorrow, 'Outwith: Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay' opens at Shetland Museum and Archives ⭐ This landmark exhibition explores the nine years that poet Hugh MacDiarmid and his wife Valda spent in Whalsay, and how the rugged landscape shaped their lives and work.

Now online! Our research review 🔬📜 We have more than 50 research projects under way at any given time at the Library. For a taste of what we do, check out our Research Review 2024–25.

Our 'Treasures' exhibition is closed and will re-open with a refreshed look and new things to see on Monday 27 April. We can't wait to welcome you back to the new space! In the meantime, the rest of our Visitor Centre remains open, including our cafe, 'Dear Library' exhibition, and shop.

We are delighted to share that our Scots Scriever, Taylor Dyson, will be hosting 'Untold Stories: Women’s Conversations' at the Webster Memorial Theatre on Friday, 28 March. This free event will celebrate the importance of amplifying unheard voices from Scotland through film, poetry, and speech.

This #MapMonday we're heading across the Irish Sea! ☘️ Our newly added OS Six-Inch maps of Ireland were printed around 1860. The 1,940 sheets update the original 1830s surveys, adding railways, new field boundaries, and more detailed place names. 🔗: maps.nls.uk/os/6inch-ire...

Today we're celebrating World Sleep Day by raiding our shelves for fairy tales! But be warned, the path to dreamland isn't always peaceful - especially for one fairy tale princess 🧵👑 Have a look at some depictions of 'Sleeping Beauty' from our collections.

Did you know that we run a Carbon Literacy for Libraries course? ♻️ The course is designed to provide librarians with an introduction to carbon literacy and empower them to support climate action. It celebrates the sustainable model of libraries and how they can support others to cut emissions.

This #MapMonday, book your place for our 'Maps for Family and Local History Workshop' to learn about different types of historic maps and how to view them on our maps website 🗺️ 📌 Online 📆 Wednesday 11 March, 10-11am 🎟️ Free Book your tickets > www.nls.uk/whats-on/map...

For #WorldBookDay, we thought we'd take you on a tour of some of our fictional maps 🗺️ Can you work out which book each of these are from? 🤔

We’re taking over the AK Bell Library on Saturday for a free day-long celebration of stories, libraries, and history! 🎉 Don’t miss the chance to see Mary Queen of Scots’ last letter on display at Perth Museum, then pop in to see us for a day packed with talks, games, storytelling, and more.

How much have our coastlines changed in the last century? 🌊 Our georeferenced map viewer allows you to directly compare maps from history with the present day. In this example, you can see Great Cowden on the Yorkshire coast, where the shoreline has receded around 200 metres over the last century.

This #MapMonday we have even #MoreMaps for you! 🗺️✨ We've georeferenced the 1,329 first edition Six-inch maps of England and Wales we added in November. Now you can use a special toggle button in our viewers to compare these maps side-by-side. Explore the new tool > maps.nls.uk/additions/#194

Coming to see Mary Queen of Scots’ last letter at Perth Museum next Saturday? Make a day of it by visiting us at AK Bell Library too! 👑 There's something on for everyone: 🪙 10:30am: Scotland's tourist treasures at the National Library 🎥 11:30am: Scenes and sounds of Scotland's ancient capital ...

What if the Jacobite cause had a queer history we were never told about? 🌈 In our new long-read, researcher and writer Indigo Dunphy-Smith takes us on a journey from Aberdeenshire’s estates to the art circles of Rome.

Celebrate Seachdain na Gàidhlig (World Gaelic Week) with us! 🗣️ ...through our collections 🏛️ We're currently showing items that tell the story of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (Alexander MacDonald, c.1698–c.1770), a schoolmaster, poet, and Jacobite captain.

Ever wondered what secrets lie in a map? 🗺️ Join us for a day dedicated to all things cartographic. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our map collections, attend talks, and get hands-on with our drop-in activities! 📅 6 February 2026 ⏰ 10:30am-4:00pm Plan your visit > www.nls.uk/whats-on/map...

What? Exploring the Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots But really, what? A display of original material from Robert Burns and Liz Lochhead exploring Mary’s story and legacy Where? AK Bell Library, Perth When? From today, Friday 23 January How to visit? www.culturepk.org.uk/library/ak-b... How much? Free

What? The Last Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots Where? Perth Museum. When? From today, 23 January Why? A rare chance to see an evocative treasure and a legendary piece of Scottish history. How? perthmuseum.co.uk/plan-your-vi... 📷 Julie Howden

We were delighted to welcome Her Majesty The Queen to the Library today. The Queen was here to officially launch the National Year of Reading in Scotland. Led by the Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust, the UK-wide campaign aims to help people rediscover the joy of reading.

📜 A queen's final words. In one week, Mary, Queen of Scots' last letter, written just six hours before her execution, goes on public display in a once-in-a-generation exhibition at Perth Museum.

This #MapMonday we're taking you back in time ⌛ We've just added over 9,000 out of copyright Ordnance Survey maps published in 1975 to our Map Images website. What did your neighbourhood look like fifty years ago? 🗺️ 🔗: maps.nls.uk/additions/#191 #MoreMaps

We're taking a break from social media until 5 January and wish you a peaceful festive season ❄️ Please view our website for our festive opening hours > www.nls.uk/visit/season... Ask about our collections and services > auth.nls.uk/contact/ask-... See you in 2026! 🎆

From 23 January, Perth Museum will be showing one of the jewels in our collections – Mary, Queen of Scots’ Last Letter 📜✒️

A happy #MapMonday to our followers. Can we tempt you with early maps of Great Britain and Ireland, just added to our website? maps.nls.uk/additions/#190 Including this stunning Palaeontological map of the British Islands, 1849, created A.K. Johnston from the papers of Professor Edward Forbes.

This #MapMonday we celebrate an amazing crowd-sourced project, the Second Land Utilisation Survey of Great Britain. Directed by Professor Alice Coleman, the project involved over 3,000 volunteers, including university students and schoolchildren. Explore the maps > maps.nls.uk/additions/#189

We're hosting a Scavenger Hunt as part of the @natlibscot.bsky.social #LoveLibraries campaign. Explore the Library, solve fun clues, and you could win this goodie bag full of Library goodies. We'll randomly select a winner from all correct entries #LoveYourLibrary forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

This #MapMonday let us take you back in time ⌛ We've just added first edition 6-inch to the mile Ordnance Survey maps of England and Wales to our website, published from the 1840s to 1880s. These maps are all from bound volumes. Explore the maps > maps.nls.uk/additions/#188

Let's talk libraries! 🔍 Join authors Louise Welsh & Damian Barr TONIGHT for a free in-conversation event at Kelvin Hall about the libraries that shaped them. 📅 6:30-7:30pm, Wednesday, 12 November 📌 Kelvin Hall 🎟️ Free Book your tickets now > www.nls.uk/whats-on/lib...

This #MapMonday we've #MoreMaps for you to explore. We've just added Survey of India half-inch to the mile maps, published between 1915 and 1948, to our website. These cover most of India and Myanmar in colourful detail. maps.nls.uk/additions/#187 #India #HistoricMaps

It's alive! 🧟 Don't miss our Frankenstein pop-up display at the National Library TODAY until 4pm! Dive into the story behind the story with: ➡️ Mary Shelley's revealing letter to Sir Walter Scott ➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives ➡️ Silent screenings of Scottish amateur film

Mary Shelley's time living near Dundee on the "blank and dreary northern shores of the Tay" fired her imagination 💭 It was here her "true compositions, the airy flights of my imagination, were born." Discover how Scotland shaped her novel, Frankenstein, in our article by Professor Daniel Cook.

Did you know Mary Shelley once had to correct Sir Walter Scott for crediting her novel, Frankenstein, to her husband? 🔍 For one day only, see this story on paper at the National Library: ➡️ Mary Shelley's letter to Sir Walter Scott ➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives ➡️ and more!

We've just added more historic Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland to our website. You can now compare first edition one-inch to the mile maps dating from the 1860s to 1870s with second edition maps published between 1898 and 1902. maps.nls.uk/os/one-inch-...

This #GreenLibrariesWeek we are celebrating the amazing ecosystems of trees and forests with the Open Shelves display in the General Reading Room. Meet remarkable trees or explore the interconnected life of our woodlands. www.nls.uk/whats-on/ope...

We're excited to be taking part in the Family History Fair at Edinburgh Central Library today. Come and find us on the balcony to hear how @natlibscot can help with your family history research - and browse maps from the World Wars.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Christopher Smith as the new Chair of the National Library of Scotland Board. Learn more about the appointment > media.nls.uk/news/new-cha...