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National Library of Scotland

Equalities, diversity and inclusion

Last updated
14 July 2025
Estimated reading time
3 minutes

Strategic aims

From 2023 to 2025, we will use our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to inform the ongoing development of our Equalities, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) action plan. This is where we set targets and goals and monitor progress.

Read our strategy: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023 to 2025 (PDF) (1.29 MB; 8 pages)

We will:

  • Commit to creating, interpreting and celebrating collections that reflect our whole society, using inclusive language.

  • Demonstrate and implement accessibility requirements across the organisation.

  • Ensure EDI is woven into our public offering.

  • Highlight EDI within our collections.

  • Cultivate a sense of openness and opportunity for staff and the public to engage in conversations around topics connected to EDI.

  • Champion and focus on systemic and structural change, ensuring that EDI work is embedded into the structure and systems of the organisation.

Staff equalities networks

Staff networks provide a critical forum for individuals to come together, share ideas, raise awareness of challenges, and provide support.

We have a number of staff-led networks which actively promote diversity and inclusion at the Library. The groups are both supports and vehicles for internal change. They feedback to the organisation on the impact of our policies and practices, and we work together to make the necessary changes. All our staff networks are supported by a senior sponsor. We currently have three staff networks in operation:

  • LGBT network

  • Disability Advocacy Network

  • Parents and Carers Network

Harmful language statement

This statement covers harmful language that you may encounter when using Library collections and resources.

Some material in the collection and the language that describes them may be harmful.

Items in the National Library of Scotland's collections range from rare historical documents to online journals, covering every subject.

When using our catalogues, collections, and online resources you may encounter text, images, film or sound clips which include outdated, discriminatory, or harmful opinions or portrayals.

These may relate to:

  • Race and ethnicity

  • Gender

  • Sexual orientation

  • Ability

  • Religious belief

  • Class

  • Other areas of cultural sensitivity, such as contested geographical references

Describing and interpreting the collections

At the Library we have a responsibility to describe, interpret, and present the collections in ways that make them useful to a wide variety of people. It is also important for us to be welcoming, inclusive and reflective of contemporary society, and language is central to this.

We want to ensure that we describe and interpret material in a way that is accurate, respectful, and responsive to the people who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.

To do this, we are reviewing our descriptive content, including catalogue records, exhibition panels, articles, blogs and web content.

While we can change the way we interpret and present the collections, we also believe all items have research value. So we are also careful not to censor or erase any part of the original material, no matter how problematic.

Instead we want to make sure that people are aware of the nature of this content before they see it.

How you can be involved

We need your help. We have millions of items in our collections and it will take us a long time to go through all the content that describes them.

We would love it if you were able to help us.

If you discover any harmful or discriminatory language in any of our descriptive content at the National Library of Scotland, please use our online enquiry service to tell us.

We value your feedback.