The Special Collections Reading Room will be closed for a Members Connect event between 5pm and 7pm on Thursday 15 October.Learn more about the event

National Library of Scotland

What's on

Find out about our events and exhibitions in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and online.

Clear

Treasures of the National Library of Scotland

Exhibition
Permanent
A person walking into the Treasures exhibition.

Peter Liversidge: The Rules of the Library

Display
5 February to 19 December 2026
The mezzanine of the General Reading Room with the 'The Rules of the Library' artwork on display.

Paperback Revolutions

Exhibition
28 May to 24 October 2026
A black and white photo of a woman next to a large shelf of books which have been coloured.

Rain

Exhibition
19 June 2026 to 30 April 2027
Words from a page raining down on a woman holding an umbrella.

Open shelves: Frozen lands

Display
1 October to 31 December 2026
A photo from the early 1900s of a penguin colony in Antarctica.

Social Justice and Self-Portraiture: Edinburgh Schools Photography Competition 2026

Display
16 to 17 October 2026
A drawing of Frederick Scott Archer's wet-collodion camera from 1853.

Welcome to the Library tours

Tour
17 October 2026, 11:30AM to 12:15PM
The outside of the Library building on George IV Bridge, also showing the people on the footpath outside and traffic on the road.

Open Book

Reading
19 October 2026, 10:15AM to 11:15AM
A group of people sitting around a table reading books.

Weather spirits and rain lore

Storytelling
21 October 2026, 2:00PM to 3:00PM
A character riding a dragon.

The Craft Pottery at the National Library of Scotland

Workshop
21 October 2026, 5:30PM to 7:30PM
A collage of autumn-themed film images and pottery pieces.

'Living proof, a climate story': 50 years of Scotland's film archive

Screening
21 October 2026, 5:45PM to 7:40PM
A film still showing a power plant on one side and children playing on a hill on the other.

Bookbug

Workshop
22 October 2026, 10:30AM to 11:00AM
The bookbug on a green background