Page updated: 6 December.
When you book an event, your personal information will be held and used by the National Library of Scotland and our third-party suppliers for the purposes of allowing you to attend the event and for audience research. See our privacy pages, in particular our events privacy notice for more information.
We expect attendees to behave respectfully towards presenters, guests and other audience members.
See also: Workshops and tours; Events at Kelvin Hall
Open Book
Join us for these free, weekly drop-in sessions.
We'll be reading stories and poems aloud and talking about them.
Just ask for Rachael or Anna when you arrive.
Every Monday
10am to 11am
George IV Bridge. Sessions take place in the George IV Bridge café located in the Visitor Centre.
Bookbug
Join us for weekly Bookbug sessions at the National Library of Scotland. We'll share songs, rhymes, and stories for children aged five and under.
Please note:
- Spaces are limited and booking is essential.
- Please only book tickets for adults attending.
- Bookbug sessions are intended for children five and under, but older siblings are welcome.
If you need to cancel, please either do so via Eventbrite or by contacting our Learning team for assistance.
Every Monday
10:30am to 11am
George IV Bridge
Free. Book 'Bookbug' via Eventbrite
Wintertime Storytelling
Enjoy some warming wintertime tales with storytellers Beverley Casebow and Anne Hunter. These stories will include traditional folktales from Scotland and beyond.
Suitable for ages 6 and over. No booking required.
Saturday 9 December
1:30pm to 2:30pm
George IV Bridge
Free. Drop in.
Christmas crackers on film!
This fun festive film screening and talk will celebrate Christmas recorded on film and video in the National Library’s moving image archive.
Curator Ann Cameron will show you the variety of films in the collection and unwrap the unique stories behind them. Expect Christmas shopping tips from the Co-Op, family memories on Christmas morning and some crazy Christmas crafting. Traditional food, drink and traditions from all corners of Scotland will be explored, including Hogmanay.
(Santa hats are optional but encouraged!)
Thursday 14 December
2pm to 3pm
George IV Bridge
Free. Book 'Christmas crackers on film!' via Eventbrite
A love letter tae an Ayrshire childhood
Explore the culture, history, folklore and literature of the Irvine Valley with writer and broadcaster Billy Kay and musician Robyn Stapleton.
Jyne Ayrshire boay Billy Kay an Gallowa lass, Robyn Stapleton for a celebration o the culture o the Sooth West o Scotland. Billy's book, 'Born in Kyle – A Love Letter tae an Ayrshire Childhood', describes the wey o life in the Irvine Valley when he wis a wean growin up there in the 1950s an 1960s. Robyn is ane o the bonniest sangsters in Scotland the day… sae the audience at the National Leibrarie is in for a real treat.
Robyn Stapleton is one of Scotland’s most respected interpreters of traditional song and is a past winner of BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year. She is a Trustee of the Dewar Arts Awards and was this year recognised in the Saltire Society's '40 Under 40' list for contributions to Scotland's culture.
Writer and broadcaster Billy Kay was born in Galston, Ayrshire in 1951, and educated at Galston High School, Kilmarnock Academy and Edinburgh University. He is a passionate advocate of the Scots language and author of the classic work Scots: 'The Mither Tongue'. His latest book, 'Born in Kyle', was published in November 2023.
Tuesday 23 January
5:30pm to 6:30 pm
George IV Bridge
Free. Book 'An Ayrshire childhood' via Eventbrite
The public and private personas of Robert Burns
This Burns night, explore collection materials that offer insights into the formal and informal sides of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, from the comfort of your home. Curators and librarians from the National Library of Scotland and the Mitchell Library in Glasgow will discuss the print collections, manuscripts, and letters of the Bard.
Robert Betteridge is the curator of Eighteenth-Century Printed Collections at the National Library of Scotland.
Ralph McLean is the curator of the Long Eighteenth-Century Manuscript Collections at the National Library of Scotland.
Susan Taylor is a Special Collections Librarian at the Mitchell Library.
Thursday 25 January
5:30pm to 6:30 pm
Online via Zoom
Free. Book 'Robert Burns' via Eventbrite
Treasures: The Blaeu Atlas of Scotland
This in-person talk by Map Curator, Chris Fleet, looks at the Blaeu Atlas of Scotland and the many interesting stories behind it. This talk will also be live-streamed.
In 1654, Scotland became one of the best mapped countries in the world. The Blaeu Atlas of Scotland features 49 stunning, hand-coloured maps of Scotland. Collectively, these maps identified over 20,000 locations. For most of these places, this was the first time they ever appeared on a printed map.
Scots celebrated this major publishing achievement, but many questions remain. Why did it take over half a century to publish the atlas? Why was most of the content of the atlas written texts, rather than maps? And how did it get published in Amsterdam by someone who had never set foot in Scotland?
This event accompanies our exhibition, 'Treasures of the National Library of Scotland' which is on at George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. The Blaeu Atlas will be on display as part of this exhibition until March 2024.
Thursday 1 February
5:30pm to 6:30 pm
George IV Bridge and online.
Free. Book to attend 'The Blaeu Atlas' in-person via Eventbrite
Book to attend the live-stream of 'The Bleau Atlas' via Eventbrite
A herbal storyteller's guide to seduction
Get in the mood for Valentine's Day with Amanda Edmiston of Botanica Fabula as she opens the pages of her first book 'The Time Traveller's Herbal'.
In this talk, Amanda shares folkloric love potions and tales of love, lust and loss as she takes us on a journey back into the historical storyteller's apothecary cabinet. Her sessions weave together facts, folklore, fairytales, history and herbal remedies through storytelling. These create a dynamic multi-sensory tapestry, which audiences have described as "a rich, enchanting glimpse into a magical garden".
Herbalist and writer Amanda Edmiston comes from a family of storytellers, plant-people, writers and artists. For the past 13 years her work has taken her on a fabulous journey, from weaving words about poisons for Chelsea Physic Garden to Scottish plant-lore for the Ashmolean in Oxford.
Thursday 8 February
5:30pm to 6:30 pm
George IV Bridge
Free. Book 'A Herbal storyteller' via Eventbrite