Research at the Library

About research at the Library

Anyone can use the Library and its collections for their own research.

We also work on formal collaborative research projects with individuals, academics and students from universities, research institutes, public bodies and charities.

We collaborate on:

• Fellowships,

• Co-supervised PhDs,

• PhD student placements,

• Research council-funded projects or networks.

Our expert staff have detailed knowledge of collections, data sets, reference and digital tools.

Some examples of our past projects include:

• Collaborative PhDs about archival collecting of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, Popular Scottish magazine culture 1870 -1920, Muriel Spark, and men's health films.

• Collaborations about The Archive of Tomorrow, Sustainable Legal Deposit, Automated Text Recognition, and machines reading maps.

• Student placements working on mountaineering collections, early printed books, and policies relating to archives.

You can find further details of our collaborative research projects in the Research Review, which we publish on our corporate documents page.

Our research priorities

Our research work focuses on seven key areas. These priorities are central to all of our independent and collaborative research projects.

The seven research priorities are:

1. The items in our collections, their creation, history, and use; their physical or digital formats; their care and preservation.

2. The intellectual content of the collections, the history of ideas and communication, the transmission of texts and audio-visual materials, bibliography, intellectual property and copyright and the history of the recorded memory of Scotland.

3. The data and metadata associated with our collections and innovative ways of creating, working with, and re-using them.

4. Exploring and advancing the use of digital technologies in a cultural heritage setting.

5. Addressing gaps in our collections, particularly regarding Equalities and Diversity, and engagement with and representation of communities in Scotland.

6. The history, impact and role of the National Library of Scotland, legal deposit libraries and the Advocates Library (the National Library's predecessor).

7. Professional knowledge and skills relevant to libraries and archives including exhibition-making, learning, audience development and engagement.

Collaborating with us on research

If you would like to work with us on a project that fits with our research priorities, we'd love to hear from you.

1. Get in touch by emailing us at enquiries@nls.uk to say you are interested in collaborating with the Library on a research project.

2. We'll put you in touch with the relevant staff member so you can discuss a potential idea for a project.

3. Send in a written proposal and application based on that discussion at least six weeks before any deadline you have. This gives us time to consult relevant staff.

When assessing an application, we consider the relevance of our collections, our resources and those of other institutions.