A new wAy FORGOTTEN FLYERS to explore Uncover festivals of the past your librAry the magazine of the national library of Scotland www.nls.uk | issue 19 | Summer 2011 WHAT was the LIBRARY’S FIRST BOOK? SCOTTISH SHIPYARD FILMS WIN A TRIP to the OPERA inside The books that get challenged, censored and chopped up OF THE YEAR CUSTOMER MAGAZINE wElcome A new exhibition and a A NEW WAY FORGOTTEN FLYERS TO EXPLORE Uncover festivals of the past YOUR LIBRARY The magazine of the National Library of Scotland www.nls.uk | Issue 19 | Summer 2011 new issue of Discover NlS WHAT WAS THE LIBRARY’S FIRST BOOK? SCOTTISH SHIPYARD FILMS WIN A TRIP TO THE OPERA ummer brings with it the latest exhibition at the INSIDE Library. Of course, all of our exhibitions require great thought and preparation on the part of the A piece of S curators who put them together, but this one is a particularly special case. writing that in The books that get challenged, its day might censored and chopped up The history of banned books is undoubtedly a fascinating OF THE YEAR CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 01 NLS-summer_11_PLACEHOLD.indd 1 19/06/2011 12:58 subject – and one that throws up a number of surprises. be considered DISCOvER NLS Issue 19 summer 2011 Yet it also presents great challenges in terms of walking immoral can CONTACT US the line of what you do and don’t put on display. Within become widely We welcome all comments, questions, submissions these pages Jan Usher and John Nicklen, the exhibition admired and subscription enquiries. curators, elaborate upon how they pulled it all together, Please write to us at the National Library of Scotland and try to explain how a piece of writing that in its day address below or email [email protected] might be considered immoral can, over time, become not just accepted, but widely admired. FOR NLS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Over the years, Edinburgh festivals have occasionally Alexandra Miller EDITORIAL ADVISER featured productions that have attracted the censors’ ire. Willis Pickard In this issue, we take a look at just a small selection of the EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Ann Fleck many items of ephemera that the Library holds relating to CONTRIBUTORS our capital city and its long association with productions Sarah Adwick, Karla Baker, (of the controversial and uncontroversial kind). Robert Betteridge, Almut Boehme, Beverley Casebow, Elsewhere, we have the story of what might possibly Jackie Cromarty, Emma Faragher, Chris Fleet, Olive be the first book to be acquired by the National Library of Geddes, Malcolm Good, Sally Scotland, and an overview of our newly launched Learning Harrower, Alice Heywood, Andrew Littlefield, Andrew Zone. This online resource is a fabulous tool that makes Martin, John Nicklen, Jane Rose, Nicola Stratton, Michael NLS content available for use in learning environments. Turnbull, Jan Usher, Ruth Washbrook And with not one, but two competitions featured in these pages, I’m particularly delighted to offer you a EDITOR Jack Kibble-White [email protected] warm welcome to our summer issue. DesigN Matthew Ball Sub-editorS Anne Boyle, Andrew Littlefield, Lou Millward Publisher John Innes martyn Wade [email protected] ADVERTISINg Alison Fraser National Librarian and Chief executive , MALCOLM COCHRANE alison.fraser@thinkpublishing. co.uk 0141 946 8708 page this PUBLISHED by Think Scotland Woodside House Three popular NlS videos on YouTube 20-23 Woodside Place Glasgow G3 7QF 0141 582 1280 1 2 3 ISSN 1751-5998 (print) ISSN 1751 6005 (online) FIRST DAY AT GLASGOW’S GAS MASK DRILL National Library of scotland SCHOOL MOSSHEIGHT AT GLASGOW George IV Bridge a short clip FLATS PRIMARY Edinburgh EH1 1EW from the Mungo’s Medal In a film from 1940, TeLephoNe 0131 623 3700 educational film (1961) shows a children in a Fax 0131 623 3701 Our Three R’s Glasgow family primary school email [email protected] (1961) depicts being rehoused class are shown a young boy’s first to their new home how to fit their gas The National Library of day at a scottish in a high rise masks in the event Scotland is a registered primary school multi-storey. of an air raid. Scottish charity. Scottish http://tinyurl. http://tinyurl. http://tinyurl. FRONT COVER: BANNED BOOKS EXHIBITION, SHUTTERSTOCK. Charity No. SC011086 com/3pd5dla com/3tsg7fo com/67o7oly www.nls.uk Summer 2011 | discover nls | 3 contents Advertising for an Edinburgh Festival production of Lauder 6 USING NLS 9 NEWS The latest news and comment, including the Darien Scheme in the Treasures space, the Bartholomew archive, a competition from Scottish Opera and all of the Library’s summer events 16 A FESTIvAL OF EPHEMERA A visual reflection on Edinburgh’s long and proud association with arts festivals Yesterday’s 18 EvIL LITERATURE disreputable texts AND FREEDOM can be today’s OF SPEECH canonical works Lifting the lid on the Page 18 Library’s new Banned Books exhibition 23 JUST THREE QUESTIONS 24 NEW LEARNING Contributors to this issue include WITH NLS We take a look at a new educational NLS online resource 26 FIRST ON THE SHELF Might Clarinda’s copy of the 2nd edition of Burns’ Poems have been the first book to be acquired Ruth Washbrook Robert Betteridge John Nicklen Jan Usher by the National Library Ruth has recently A curator in NLS’ Co-curator of the Jan is NLS’ of Scotland? been appointed Rare Book Collections, Banned Books Head of Official Senior Curator Robert represents exhibition, John is also Publications, and cochrane 29 MY NLS at the Library’s NLS at meetings of Curator of Modern is co-curator Scottish Screen the National Burns British Collections of the Banned malcolm 30 LAST WORD Archive Collection at the Library Books exhibition www.nls.uk Summer 2011 | discover nls | 5 Using the National Inside library of NlS Scotland With a collection of over 14 million printed items, two million maps, 32,000 films, three miles of manuscripts, plus thousands of photos, getting around NLS requires a little navigation How to join of identity and confirmation of To use NLS’ Reading Rooms your address, bring one or more and order up items from the documents that include your The Library’s collections, you need to hold name and address, supported George Iv Bridge a library card number. This can by a signature or photograph. building be obtained by completing the online form at https://auth.nls. Viewing uk/registration. Simply follow Requests can be made in via the online catalogue on the steps on the website. material person, by telephone on our website. On your first visit to the If you know what you are 0131 623 3700, or by email: More information about Library, you should go to looking for, we recommend [email protected] pre-ordering is available at Registration where staff will making your request for the In addition, if you have a www.nls.uk/using-the- take your photo and produce required material in advance library card number, books library/reading-rooms/ a library card for you. For proof of your visit to the Library. can be ordered in advance general/preorders Government ✱ India, raj & empire; ✱ Digital resources And officiAl sabin americana, 1500- With over 300 million items, of which 85% A wealth of political 1926; ✱ The making of the information can be viewed modern World; ✱ Times are available remotely, NLS’ licensed digital online, including 18th Century Digital archive; ✱ Waterloo collections are a superb research tool official parliamentary Directory of english publications portal 1688- Newspapers and periodicals Art And literAture archive; Factiva; FAME – 1834; ✱ house of Commons 1800-1900, a bibliography of The Library’s digital information on over 2.4 million parliamentary papers; ✱ publications, personal collections relating to art of the largest UK and Irish public Information online and names, issuing bodies and and literature include companies; ✱ Frost & ✱ The making of modern Law subjects; ✱ The scotsman ✱ 19th Century uK periodicals sullivan; ✱ Global reference – Legal Treatises 1800-1926. Digital archive 1817-1950 part 1. Women’s, Children’s, solution; Key Note market and ✱ Who’s Who (and humour and Leisure/sport; research reports; product HiStory, bioGrApHy, Who Was Who). ✱ British Literary manuscripts and services database GeneAloGy online c.1660-1900; Naxos Kompass Database; market You can access ✱ 17th & 18th reference workS music Library; ✱ oxford music research monitor and mintel Century Burney Newspaper And cAtAloGueS online; ✱ perdita manuscripts market research reports. Collection; ✱ 19th Century ✱ Credo reference gives – Women Writers, 1500-1700; British Library Newspapers; you access to 400 high- ✱ rILm abstracts of music educAtion, Science ✱ 19th Century uK periodicals quality reference books Literature; scottish Women And SociAl Science part 2. empire: Travel and from the world’s leading poets of the romantic period; Educational resources include anthropology, economics, publishers. Other online sCRAN Digital materials; ✱ aLPSP Learned Journals missionary and Colonial; ✱ Times Literary supplement science Collection; Blackwell British and Irish Women’s historical archive and Compass Journals; Letters and Diaries; ✱ Celtic ✱ SUR Digital archive. ✱ electronic enlightenment; Culture – a historical ✱ environment Complete; encyclopedia (via NetLibrary); For more buSiness ✱ GreenFILe; ✱ JsTOR; ✱ InfoTrac Custom information Online resources for ✱ mLa International Newspapers; ✱ John Johnson visit: businesses, including Bibliography; ✱ oxford Collection: an archive of https://auth. Business Insights (reuters); Journals online; ✱ science printed ephemera – digitised ✱ CoBRA – The Complete Full Text select; ✱ standards images from the Bodleian nls.uk/ldc Business reference adviser; Infobase and ✱ Web Library; ✱ oxford Dictionary ✱ economist historical of Knowledge. of National Biography (oDNB); 6 | discover nls | Summer 2011 www.nls.uk Online NlS locations NLS has a vast range of electronic resources, Films including digital versions of Scottish Screen Archive reference works, massive 39-41 Montrose Avenue full-text facsimiles and Hillington Park business databases Glasgow G52 4LA (see below for a list).