Congratulations to our teams at Craigmillar Library; Oxgangs Library, Mobile Library and Saughton Library at HMP; and Kirkliston and South Queensferry Libraries who are all Regional & Country Finalists for Library of the Year – Scotland in the British Book Awards! 📕🎉

Morningside Library are hosting a help session on Monday 9 March for parents and carers supporting their child’s learning at home. Please read our blog post for further information - zurl.co/32B8P

Just a year ago, laurabgordon captured this beautiful blanket of #snowdrops at Fairmilehead, “in the golden hour, not too long after the sun’s late February rising time”. Share your photos too on Edinburgh Collected and help us record history - today! zurl.co/xxqqA#snowdrops #ThrowbackThursday

For #WorldGaelicWeek Sighthill Library are celebrating with a special #Bookbug session sharing songs and stories in Gaelic on Friday 27 February at 10.45am. No booking necessary, just pop along! #SeachdainNaGàidhlig2026 #WorldGaelicWeek2026

There are some spaces available on our beginners' #FamilyHistory session at Central Library this week. Come along on Thurs 26 February at 2pm to find out how to use the library's free online and physical resources to uncover your past! Book your place by emailing [email protected]

The caricaturist John Kay observed the prominent characters of the Scottish Enlightenment and his etchings give a fascinating panorama of this era of Edinburgh’s history. On this, the 200th anniversary of Kay’s death, find out more about the people he depicted on Our Town Stories - zurl.co/6WyhR

Ever thought about doing your family tree? Come along to our beginners' #FamilyHistory session at Central Library on Thurs 26 February at 2pm and find out how to get started using Ancestry and our other free resources. Book your place via [email protected]

Tomorrow is World Day of Social Justice, and we are focusing on reading for pleasure. Did you know that reading for pleasure improves language skills, social skills and employability? Read more about how reading tackles poverty www.scottishbooktrust.com/articles/how...

Our #ThrowbackThursday takes us back to 1963 and a glimpse inside the Palais de Dance at #Fountainbridge. There was no drinks licence in the dance halls, so the strongest drink available was coffee! Photo shared by Living Memory Association via Edinburgh Collected. zurl.co/WpW0T

Listen to Edinburg with no wait on uLibrary from Edinburgh Libraries www.edinburgh.gov.uk/ulibrary

21 February will mark 200 years since the death of John Kay, the renowned Scottish caricaturist and engraver. Read our blog post to find out more about his life and a new Capital Collections exhibition showcasing around 360 of his portraits and caricatures - zurl.co/Hq5ZS

Our #ThrowbackThursday captures the Scottish Motor Traction bus depot staff posed for a photo in February 1928. The location is unknown but it’s thought to be Fountainbridge where the SMT had a depot at the time - zurl.co/O9y1a#ThrowbackThursday Image thanks to Living Memory Association via Edinburgh Collected

Music on the Mezzanine, Central Library's programme of Saturday lunchtime concerts returns this week! On Saturday 14 February at 1pm, Luis Flores Carrubio and Ailsa Thompson will kick off this season with a programme of music for violin and flute. Book your free ticket online - zurl.co/BTLvL

Discover books as art - walking, making, thinking in pages - in a recent blog post and in a wonderful exhibition of #ArtistsBooks from the collections of the #ArtAndDesignLibrary. The exhibition is on show Edinburgh Central Library until 28 February - don't miss it! zurl.co/XdjsM

Craigmillar Literacy Trust is running the Johnni Stanton Creative Writing Awards 2026. Aimed at young writers aged 8-16 who live or go to school in #Craigmillar #Niddrie #Bingham or #Magdalene 100 words on the theme of music. More info here: www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...

Revealing the longlist for the #Carnegies2026 Medal for Writing! 🏅✒️ Highlighting diversity and community, these 19 works span from humorous narratives and creative reimaginings to artfully using history to explore identity and relationships . 💫📖 https://carnegies.co.uk/2026-longlists-announced/

#OnThisDay Mary, Queen of Scots was executed for her involvement in a plot against Elizabeth I. Read about Mary’s extraordinary life and times in a new story on Our Town Stories - zurl.co/jltdS

As we edge closer to the 200th anniversary of John Kay’s death, here’s a brilliant satire from the caricaturist. With wit and precision, Kay turns an internal university power struggle into a visual drama🖋️🐘 Keep your eyes peeled to see more of Kay’s work soon on Capital Collections. 👀 zurl.co/ouf63

Order a free boxful of Scotland's Stories of Friendship for your café, community centre, school, library ... wherever you please! 📕 www.surveymonkey.com/r/scotlandss...

In February 1950, George and Jeanie Forrest sit with their children for a family photo. It may have been taken at their Redhall Drive prefab home - maybe you recognise the space as a prefab interior? #ThrowbackThursday shared by Living Memory Association via Edinburgh Collected zurl.co/Gad7X

Do you know any budding young artists? Central Library’s Children’s Art Club returns this month! zurl.co/g4iqp

Celebrate Languages Week Scotland 2- 6 Feb by joining activities promoting the languages spoken by New Scots. Test your calligraphy skills, discover Arabic poetry and stories. Events at Gilmerton and Oxgangs Libraries. Find out more zurl.co/Sx0Lh

Over on the blog, we highlight our latest addition to Our Town Stories - a digital trail all about the life and times of Mary, Queen of Scots and her connections to Edinburgh zurl.co/DcIAg

Our Resources Team hand-pick a selection of titles from the freshly arrived library books for February - zurl.co/IFfJU

A new exhibition has opened in the #ArtAndDesignLibrary for the month of February - 'Shift' is an exhibition of contemporary paintings by Paradigms, a group of four Edinburgh-based women artists at Central Library zurl.co/670ZI

The Music on the Mezzanine programme of free Saturday lunchtime concerts returns to Central Library this month - zurl.co/Arqzx

Celebrate Languages Week Scotland 2- 6 Feb, by joining activities promoting the languages spoken by New Scots. Test your calligraphy skills, discover Arabic poetry and stories. Events at Muirhouse, Gilmerton and Oxgangs Libraries. Find out more at zurl.co/crW2e

This lovely portrait of a fishwife at the harbour at #Newhaven is dated around 100 years ago. You can see lots more brilliant portraits of faces from Edinburgh’s past on Edinburgh Colllected, our online community archive. #ThrowbackThursday thanks to Living Memory Association zurl.co/Ostdl

Available to borrow now with no queues! The Women by Kristin Hannah on audiobook. Treat yourself and get listening to the bestselling novel now . Free through Edinburgh Libraries and BorrowBox zurl.co/jASuN

Thinking of tracing your family tree? Come along to our beginners’ #FamilyHistory session at Edinburgh Central Library to find out about the free resources that can help you with your research. Next session is on Thursday 29 January at 2pm. Book by emailing [email protected]

Ahead of #BurnsNight, we focus on #RobertBurns’ publisher, William Creech. Largely forgotten today, Creech was well known in late 1700s Edinburgh society. He was Lord Provost, a member of Edinburgh’s literati, and a Luckenbooth shopkeeper. Read about his life on Our Town Stories - zurl.co/zciE6

In our last post for #HealthInformationWeek the focus is on winter health and the warm welcome you'll find at any of our Libraries zurl.co/GPqeq

Get ready for #BurnsNight! Find out about #RobertBurns and his time spent in Edinburgh, the connections he made with the literati and prominent figures of the day, and of course, one of the loves of his life, Mrs Agnes McLehose (known as ‘Clarinda’) on Our Town Stories - zurl.co/BnIRT

Today's focus for #HealthInformationWeek is on mental health and Edinburgh's new Thrive Welcome Teams zurl.co/kVRYp

In January 1963, there was a new gents hair stylist in town! ‘Bob’s’ was the first barbers in Edinburgh to have appointments and a manicurist to do gents’ nails. Our #ThrowbackThursday is shared by PatrickMc via Edinburgh Collected, our online community archive. zurl.co/twju5

Our Reading Well for Mental Health collection is available on Libby this Health Information Week zurl.co/Gz5Z2

Check out our collection of women's health titles on Libby this Health Information Week! zurl.co/SBkrb

During #Health InformationWeek and #CervicalCancerPreventionWeek the Macmillan Cancer Support team at Edinburgh Libraries give a reminder of the importance of cervical screening zurl.co/u4vgh

Pubs we never knew. Macpherson's at 165 Pleasance in 1927 shortly before demolition in a slum clearance scheme. Allegedly one of the finest the southside ever knew. The windows advertise Disher's legendary 10 Guinea Ale in bottles, at 11.2% ABV it was quite the tipple and also came in pints

Today for #HealthInformationWeek our colleagues from the Macmillan Cancer Support team tell us how to access #Macmillan translated patient information zurl.co/7nG1a

Ninety years ago #OnThisDay, our wonderful #ArtAndDesignLibrary opened! We've put together a Then and Now picture on Our Town Stories to mark the occasion - zurl.co/wjx4p#OnThisDay#ArtAndDesignLibraryook out for a special display all about the Art Library coming soon to the Central Library staircase cabinets...

Want to find out how to start your family tree? Come along to our beginners’ #FamilyHistory session at Central Library on Thursday 29 January at 2pm to find out how to use the library's free online and physical resources. Book your place by emailing [email protected]

It's Health Information Week - see Edinburgh Libraries collection of over 500 health ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, all available to borrow for free on Libby! zurl.co/W1xE9

Every day this week on the blog, we’ll be talking about the health information and well-being resources that you can access from Edinburgh Libraries. We start today with health information for children and young people zurl.co/taOSi #HealthInformationWeek

The book was better..? Decide for yourself with our reading suggestions to get ahead of the titles coming to a big or small screen near you later this year – zurl.co/KF8PZ

Love football? Kick off the new year with Back of the Net, a new #football course for everyone aged 16 and over! A place to share your football stories, meet other people and chat over a cuppa. Starts Wednesday 21 January. Contact Hazel or Lorrane for more details.

We're highlighting just a few of our new library books - some that perhaps you haven’t heard of, to spark the imagination, or draw you into another world... zurl.co/7undN

This month's Talking Books Book Club title is the heart-warming Japanese bestseller The Convenience Store by the Sea. Borrow immediately through the Book Clubs link on uLIBRARY zurl.co/2o8hR

This wonderful Edwardian studio cabinet print is taken from A Leith Photograph Album. You can see all the photos from this album in a scrapbook shared by the Living Memory Association on Edinburgh Collected. Do you have any old family photos to add to our community archive? zurl.co/UI06K

Read today’s blog to find out how a mystery Leith photograph album shared by the Living Memory Association on Edinburgh Collected took us on a #FamilyHistory trail… zurl.co/O5kew