Bibliography of Scotland
Description
Period
Bibliography of Scotland is a database of writing about Scotland, containing records for books, serials and major periodical articles. From 1976 to 1987 the records were published in a series of annual printed volumes, and the present database was established in 1988. It therefore records all material published later than 1987, together with items dated 1976 to 1987 which were processed after 1987. All pre-1976 works are excluded. The National Library of Scotland is currently working to convert records from the printed volumes into online format.
Scope
Bibliography of Scotland lists material of Scottish interest, irrespective of where it was published, but omits material published in Scotland which has no Scottish content. 'Scottish interest' is interpreted in a wide sense, including:
- Material about Scotland itself, about all aspects of Scottish life and culture, and about the activities of Scots at home and abroad
- Material published by Scottish corporate bodies which reflects the activities or opinions of that body
- Creative work by Scots in the fields of literature and art and reprints of older "classic" works.
Works written by Scottish authors are excluded if they fall outside these parameters.
Bibliography of Scotland records articles of major Scottish importance from a wide range of periodicals, together with single chapters excerpted from multi-author books or from books whose primary focus is non-Scottish.
Some categories of material are specifically excluded:
- Maps
- Works written primarily in musical notation
- Some categories of official publications such as departmental circulars, Parliamentary proceedings and statutory instruments
- All serial issues after the first
- Some categories of "ephemeral" publications such as calendars, timetables, programmes of cultural and sporting events, club and church newsletters and publicity brochures.
Other categories are included only contingently, as they happen to be acquired by the National Library. This is the case with certain non-book media such as microforms, audiobooks, CD-ROMs, graphic materials and kits, and also with foreign doctoral theses (UK theses are normally excluded). Foreign translations of Scottish literature are acquired, and listed, selectively: a much fuller listing is available in the Bibliography of Scottish Literature in Translation (BOSLIT).
For more information about Bibliography of Scotland, please contact:
The Editor
Bibliography of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh
EH1 1EW
Tel: +44 (0)131 623 3828
Fax: +44 (0)131 623 3701
Email: bos@nls.uk
