National Library of Scotland at Kelvin Hall events are free and take place at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, unless we state otherwise.
April events | May events | June events
List updated: 12 April.
April events
Discovering family history at Kelvin Hall
Our huge range of digital resources can help you with your ancestral research. Learn how to use them at this workshop. If you have discovered the outline of your family history and want to find out more about your ancestors' lives, our digital resources can help. Learn how to use our huge range of digital resources for your ancestral research at this workshop. The session takes approximately 90 minutes.
Thursday 18 April
14.00
Free. Book 'Discovering family history at Kelvin Hall' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.
The colour of Scotland
The joint work of director Eddie McConnell and composer Frank Spedding is the subject of this film screening. Fiona Jardine from Glasgow School of Art, and Geoff Cox from the University of Huddersfield, examine creative use of colour and sound in McConnell and Spedding's 1960s collaborations. 'Weave Me A Rainbow' (1962), made to promote the Scottish woollen industry, and 'A Kind of Seeing' (1967), an abstract meditation on plants and landscape, are both discussed.
Wednesday 24 April
18.00
Free. Book 'The colour of Scotland' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.
Getting started with the Moving Image Archive
The National Library of Scotland's Moving Image Archive has been collecting and preserving films since 1976. All of Scots life can be seen: adverts, documentaries, home movies, promotional films, amateur comedies, educational programmes and more. This workshop is designed to introduce you to the archive and guide you through getting the most from searching our catalogue. Workshop lasts around one hour.
Saturday 27 April
14.00
Free. Book 'Getting started with the Moving Image Archive' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.
May events
Getting started with the Moving Image Archive
The National Library of Scotland's Moving Image Archive has been collecting and preserving films since 1976. All of Scots life can be seen: adverts, documentaries, home movies, promotional films, amateur comedies, educational programmes and more. This workshop is designed to introduce you to the archive and guide you through getting the most from searching our catalogue. Workshop lasts around one hour.
Tuesday 14 May
14.00
Free. Book 'Getting started with the Moving Image Archive' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.
Taking tea with a trailblazer
Storyteller Jan Bee Brown leads a celebration of the 130th anniversary of the birth of Scottish explorer and botanist Isobel Wylie Hutchison (1889-1982). Spending her childhood on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Isobel went on to take on solo travels across Iceland, Greenland, and Alaska. In this session, discover the stories of her adventures and listen to folk tales from the lands that she visited. Tea, coffee, and cake will be provided.
Wednesday 29 May
14.00–15.30
Free. Book 'Taking tea with a trailblazer' on Eventbrite or phone 0131 623 3734.
June events
Maps for family and local history
Discover how maps can help with ancestral or local history research. Learn about the information historical maps of Scotland can provide. Explore 200,000 maps on our map images website, use our geo-referenced viewing tools and find out how to print and buy maps. This introductory talk, and question and answer session, lasts an hour, followed by a 30-minute supported session on the maps website. To participate in this session, you will need to have registered for a library card.
Wednesday 12 June
14.00–15:30
Free. Book 'Maps for family and local history' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.
Airships, steamships and Spitfires
100 years of women in engineering
More than a century has passed since women were first able to start to become engineers. Many of the first women in this field did not merely pioneer a new career for females, but also made important contributions to engineering in the UK. Dr Nina Baker shares some of the terrific stories about amazing women, from her years of research into these hidden histories. This talk is part of the centenary celebrations of the Women's Engineering Society, founded in 1919.
Wednesday 12 June
18.00
Free. Book 'Airships, steamships and Spitfires' on Eventbrite or phone 0131 623 3734.
Discovering family history at Kelvin Hall
Our huge range of digital resources can help you with your ancestral research. Learn how to use them at this workshop. If you have discovered the outline of your family history and want to find out more about your ancestors' lives, our digital resources can help. Learn how to use our huge range of digital resources for your ancestral research at this workshop. The session takes approximately 90 minutes.
Tuesday 18 June
14.00
Free. Book 'Discovering family history at Kelvin Hall' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.
Getting started with the Moving Image Archive
The National Library of Scotland's Moving Image Archive has been collecting and preserving films since 1976. All of Scots life can be seen: adverts, documentaries, home movies, promotional films, amateur comedies, educational programmes and more. This workshop is designed to introduce you to the archive and guide you through getting the most from searching our catalogue. Workshop lasts around one hour.
Wednesday 19 June
18.00
Free. Book 'Getting started with the Moving Image Archive' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.
20th-century Glasgow on film
Curator Liam Paterson presents a tour through 20th-century Glasgow with films of the Moving Image Archive. Vintage videos of Glasgow's built heritage, streets and parks reveal how the city has changed over time. Enjoy early footage of trams in the city centre, and 1930s film of the city's transport network. Watch a young couple's day out to Glasgow to buy a new car in the early 1960s, and 1970s footage of a group of teenagers' Saturday night out in town.
Wednesday 26 June
18.30
Free. Book '20th-century Glasgow on film' on Eventbrite or phone 0845 366 4629.