National Library of Scotland Gaelic Language Plan 2019-2024
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National Library of Scotland Gaelic Language Plan 2019-2024 Prepared under section 5(1)(a) of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 Page | 1 CONTENTS Foreword 1. Introduction 1.1 About National Library of Scotland and our audiences 1.2 The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 1.3 Consultation 1.4 Use of Gaelic in Scotland 1.5 Gaelic Language Plan requirements 1.6 Use of Gaelic in National Library of Scotland 2. Achievements and reflections 2.1 Achievements to date 2.2 Monitoring Report 2014-16 2.3 Developing our second iteration plan 3. High level aims 3.1 igh-level Aims 3.2 Levels of provision 4. Actions 4.1 5. Implementation and Monitoring 5.1 Timetable 5.2 Publicising the Plan 5.3 Implementation 5.4 Monitoring the implementation 5.5 Contact List 6. Appendixes A Foghlam tron Gàidhlig 2015-16 Gaelic Medium Education B Luchd-labhairt Gàidhlig 2011 Gaelic Speakers C Gaelic Population and Education Data 2 | Page Foreword The National Library of Scotland is pleased to present this new iteration of its statutory role is to preserve the memory of the nation through collections that span the centuries, from the earliest times to the digital age. Gaelic forms a key element of the culture of Scotland and the Library is proud to hold what we believe is the largest collection of Scots Gaelic material in the world. We will continue adding to this material (both historic and contemporary content) and ensure it is made available to all who would like to use, learn and take inspiration from it. This commitment is central to our Gaelic Language Plan, and we believe it is a contribution to the vitality of the Gaelic language which the Library is uniquely able to make. We also recognise the importance of Gaelic in the wider public policy of the Scottish Government and Bòrd na Gàidhlig, represented through the National Gaelic Language Plan 2018-2023 and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. Through this iteration of the Plan, we believe we will make a relevant and significant contribution to the sustainability of the Gaelic language and the esteem in which it is held, building on our long history of collecting, preserving and promoting our Gaelic collections. This has included collecting books, journals and other materials, establishing relations with publishers of Gaelic and hosting a range of educational and public events. During the timespan of our first Gaelic Language Plan we made a considerable investment in the digitisation of hundreds of thousands of pages of rare Gaelic books, an initiative of global significance. We have consulted on this Plan between January 2018 and March 2018 and took account of the feedback we received in preparing this Plan for formal submission to Bòrd na Gàidhlig. We have received suggestions and recommendations from Bòrd na Gàidhlig and this feedback has informed the revised Plan. Dr John Scally National Librarian and Chief Executive National Library of Scotland Page | 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 About National Library of Scotland and our audiences The National Library of Scotland was established by the 1925 National Library of Scotland Act. In 2012 a new National Library of Scotland Act was passed, The Library is now governed by a Board of up to 14 members. A new National Librarian and Chief Executive was appointed in 2014 and a new strategy, The Way Forward: Library Strategy 2015-20, was launched in 2015. This strategy informs everything the Library does. The Library collects around 150,000 new print items each year as well as significant digital, manuscript and film material. Principally, we collect this through Legal Deposit the Library is the only library in Scotland which can claim a copy of UK and Irish publications. This was extended in 2013 to cover material published digitally and online. We also transfer law publications to the Faculty of Advocates. Library users may be anywhere in the world, although Scottish users form a key audience. The Library has made significant strides in becoming a more open and outward-looking organisation in recent years. As well as providing rich resources for researchers of all kinds, we also provide services for schools, tourists and the general public, for example through digital services, exhibitions and the Visitor Centre at our flagship building on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh. In September 2016, we opened a new public facility at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, providing access to our digital collections and Moving Image Archive. Around a quarter of users of Library online services are from overseas. Researchers interested in the Scottish national record visit our website from all over the world (see diagram overleaf). These figures show that key audiences for the Library include countries with significant Scottish diaspora communities: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and especially the USA. 2 | Page Origin of web traffic to www.nls.uk United Kingdom United States Canada Australia Germany Ireland France New Zealand China Spain 1.2 The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 was passed by the Scottish Parliament with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language. One of the key features of the Act is the provision enabling Bòrd na Gàidhlig to require public bodies to prepare Gaelic Language Plans. The provision was designed to ensure the public sector in Scotland plays its part in creating a sustainable future for Gaelic by raising its status and profile, developing practical opportunities for its use and helping to safeguard the continuity of Gaelic language and culture. The National Library of Scotland drafted its first Gaelic Language Plan in June 2011. It was approved by the Bòrd in June 2012. Regular monitoring reports were submitted to the Bòrd throughout the Plan. December 2017, with a Monitoring report issued in June 2016. 1.3 Consultation The Act requires public authorities to bring the preparation of the Gaelic Language Plan to the attention of all interested parties. A consultation on the draft Gaelic Language Plan ran from January 2018 to March 2018. 1.4 Use of Gaelic in Scotland within our area of operation. 3 | Page The total number of people the 2011 census was 87,056 (1.7% of the Scottish population). Of these, the total number of people who speak Gaelic is 57,602; read Gaelic is 38,636, and are Gaelic-literate is 32,418. There has been a decline in numbers in the first two of these categories since 2001 but the number of Gaelic speakers who are literate in the language has increased. There has also been a growth in the number of young people with Gaelic skills. The number of people who population. 1.5 Gaelic Language Plan requirements In developing our Gaelic Language Plan, we took account of: The National Gaelic Language Plan and its four priority action areas: language acquisition; language usage; language status, and language corpus. Our internal capacity for use of the Gaelic language. Feedback from the public during the six week consultation period from January to March 2018. Feedback from the Scottish Government and/or the Bòrd na Gàidhlig. In addition, we considered: The High-level Aims, approved by the Library Leadership Team. The Gaelic Language Plans with a view to facilitating the use of Gaelic to the greatest extent that is appropriate to their individual circumstances. Our current strategic priorities as outlined in The Way Forward: Library Strategy 2015-2020. The demographic information on Gaelic speakers in Scotland. proportionality and flexibility. 1.6 Use of Gaelic in the National Library of Scotland In preparing our first Plan we carried out a survey of our staff in 2011 to establish a baseline of Gaelic language ability among our staff, and to gather information on the current demand in the Library for Gaelic services. We received responses from 169 of our 320 staff (a 53% completion rate). The survey indicated that: Our experience of customer demand for Gaelic services mainly relates to items with Gaelic language or context contained within the collections and their interpretation. 4 | Page Of the 169 respondents 11% (18 staff) indicated some ability to understand, speak, read or write Gaelic. 14 qualified this with comments about the limitations of their ability. 151 respondents (89%) could not understand, speak, read or write Gaelic. One respondent was a fluent Gaelic speaker for whom Gaelic was a requirement for all aspects of day-to-day work cataloguing, answering enquiries, assisting non-Gaelic speaking colleagues, and conducting media interviews on the work of the Library and its collections. Other posts which require some Gaelic language ability include the manager of the Bibliography of Scottish Gaelic; curators in Modern Scottish Collections, Acquisitions and Cataloguing, and the Moving Image Archive. Nine respondents stated they would like some sort of Gaelic language instruction made available at work. Of the respondents who indicated they had some knowledge of Gaelic, around two thirds worked in the Collections and Research Department (this Department contains about one third of our staff). Our Access Department had smaller numbers of staff with some Gaelic. The findings of the survey were compatible with our approach to language planning, which concentrates on our key functions of acquiring, interpreting and promoting Gaelic materials. We will continue to monitor such data in the future. Since the survey, we have run regular Gaelic Awareness Training (GAT) sessions: 41 staff attended GAT through a collaborative project with National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) and National Museums Scotland (NMS) in 2013-14. 12 staff attended 2 sessions in 2016; 6 staff from NGS and NMS also attended.