| Edinburgh Central Library | |
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| 55°56′54″N3°11′33″W / 55.9483°N 3.1924°W | |
| Location | George IV Bridge Edinburgh EH1 1EG, United Kingdom |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 1890 |
| Other information | |
| Website | https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/centrallibrary |
Central Library in Edinburgh, Scotland, opened in 1890, was the first public library building in the city. Edinburgh Central library comprises six libraries: Lending, Reference, Music, Art and Design, Edinburgh and Scottish, and the Children's Library.
Today there are 28 public libraries in Edinburgh but, as the first to open in the Scottish capital, the creation of Central Library was funded with £50,000 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. [1] [2] [3] At the opening ceremony a telegram from Carnegie was read out stating: "We trust that this Library is to grow in usefulness year after year, and prove one of the most potent agencies for the good of the people for all time to come." [3]
The site selected for the library was the former home of Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet Hope of Craighall, advocate for King Charles I. [4] The structure, built in 1616, was demolished in March 1887 to make way for the library. [4] The lintel from Hope's home, bearing the carved inscription TECUM HABITA 1616 from the fourth satire of Persius, is preserved above an inner doorway of the library. [5] [6]
Carnegie's funding was initially an offer of £25,000 in 1886 which was doubled, overcoming prior opposition to the establishment of a public library. The city—last of those to do so in Scotland—adopted the Public Libraries Act and on 9 July 1887. Carnegie laid the foundation stone of architect George Washington Browne's French Renaissance-styled building. [3]
Washington Browne's design was the winning entry in the architectural competition for the new library and was selected from 37 submissions. [7] His grand building stands three levels tall above George IV Bridge and reaches down to the Cowgate below, spanning the disjointed streets of Edinburgh's Old Town.
Above the main door is the motto, "Let there be Light" which Carnegie insisted was placed above the entrance to every library he funded. [8] The facade of Central Library is also decorated with stone carvings depicting the coat of arms of the City of Edinburgh, Coat of Arms of Scotland and the Royal Arms. There are nine small square reliefs relating to printers [9] and a large sculpture of Caledonia by Alexander Handyside Ritchie.
Records for 1890, the first full year the library was open, show that over 440,000 book loans were issued. [3]
Central Library has been adapted and expanded many times over the years. [10] Only a year after opening, the library was already running out of space and a book store was added in 1903. By 1928, the library was short of space again. Proposals were made for a better use of the space and a public lift was installed.
In 1930, the adjacent building at No.3 George IV Bridge was acquired allowing the library to expand again. [8] Further nearby premises were bought in the 1940s. In 1961 a mezzanine level was created above the former Newspaper Room. [10]
In May 2014, the new children's and music libraries were opened within the main library building. These had previously been housed in a separate building on George IV Bridge. The children's library features a wall graphic by award-winning children's book illustrator Catherine Rayner. [11]
In November 2017, on the 100th anniversary of her death, a memorial to Dr Elsie Inglis, the founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, was unveiled at Central Library. [12]
As with all public libraries in Edinburgh, adult collections are organised using the Library of Congress Classification system. [13] Since Wigan dropped the system during a 1974 local government reorganisation, Edinburgh is the only municipality in the UK continuing to use it. Children's books are organised under the more-widespread Dewey Decimal Classification scheme. [14]
Edinburgh Central Library holds in its collections three of the Scottish book sculptures, which are on display in its main foyer. The sculptures were the work of an anonymous artist who left these artworks among a series of other in literary venues during the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2011. The sculptures in the collection depict a magnifying glass, a teacup and a small figure 'lost in a book'. [15]
Edinburgh Central Library was used as a filming location for the TV series Rebus, during episode one Black & Blue. Outside building shots were taken and as well as a scene in the reference section. [16]
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems. 1,689 were built in the United States, 660 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 125 in Canada, and 25 others in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Serbia, Belgium, France, the Caribbean, Mauritius, Malaysia, and Fiji.
Sir Ian James Rankin is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.
Eliza Maud "Elsie" Inglis was a Scottish medical doctor, surgeon, teacher, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals. She was the first woman to hold the Serbian Order of the White Eagle.
Vancouver Public Library (VPL) is the public library system for the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2023, VPL had more than 4.6 million visits with patrons borrowing nearly 10.4 million items including: books, ebooks, CDs, DVDs, video games, newspapers and magazines. Across 21 locations and online, VPL serves over 236,000 active members and is the largest public library system in British Columbia.
The Elsie Inglis Memorial Maternity Hospital was a maternity hospital in Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland.
William Birnie Rhind RSA (1853–1933) was a Scottish sculptor.
In my defens God me defend is the motto of both the royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland and royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland. Contemporary versions of the royal arms show an abbreviated motto, in the form of in defens or, where English is used as an alternative, in defence. The motto appears above the crest of the arms, in the tradition of Scottish heraldry.
Sir George Washington Browne was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London. He spent most of his career in Edinburgh, although his work can be found throughout Scotland and beyond. He was involved in nearly 300 projects, including many public and commercial buildings. One of his most notable buildings is Edinburgh's Central Library, and he became recognised as an authority on library planning and design. He came to national attention after winning a competition to design a bridge over the River Thames in London, although this was never realised. He was the first architect to be elected as President of the Royal Scottish Academy. He also served as President of the Edinburgh Architectural Association, and was instrumental in setting up the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland.
Evelina Haverfield was a British suffragette and aid worker.
Leith Library is one of Edinburgh's 28 freely-accessible libraries. It is a category B listed building. located in Leith, in the northern part of the city, at the foot of Ferry Road shortly before it meets Great Junction Street and North Junction Street.
McDonald Road Library is one of 28 freely-accessible public libraries in Edinburgh, Scotland. The library opened in 1904 as the East Branch of the city's library service. It is located on the corner of McDonald Road and Leith Walk, and is a category B listed building.
The Scottish book sculptures are a group of book sculptures that were contrived to be "found" in Scotland between 2011 and 2016. The sculptures are on topics mostly concerning Scottish literature and poetry, and are made out of old books by an anonymous female paper sculptor.
Isabel Galloway Emslie, Lady Hutton CBE was a Scottish physician who specialised in mental health and social work.
Charles d’Orville Pilkington Jackson RSA, FRBS, FRSA was a British sculptor prominent in Scotland in the 20th century. Throughout his career he worked closely with the architect Sir Robert Lorimer. He is most noteworthy for his creation of one of Scotland's most iconic landmarks, the statue of Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn.
The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and sent to serve in Corsica, France, Malta, Romania, Russia, Salonika and Serbia.
Charles McBride was a Scottish sculptor active in the second half of the 19th century.
Grace Ross Cadell was a Scottish medical doctor and suffragist, and one of the first group of women to study medicine in Scotland and qualify.
The Dunfermline Carnegie Library opened in Dunfermline, Scotland, on 29 August 1883 and was the world's first Carnegie Library funded by the Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was designed by Edinburgh architect James Campbell Walker who also designed the nearby Dunfermline City Chambers. Andrew Carnegie donated £8000 to building and stocking what would be the first of over 2,500 Carnegie Libraries. The library was made a Category B listed building in 1971.
Ethel Mary Moir, a nursing orderly who served with the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service on the Eastern Front during World War I. Moir recorded her experiences serving with the Elsie Inglis Unit in Russia and Serbia in two volumes of diaries.
The Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women was established by Elsie Inglis and her father John Inglis. Elsie Inglis went on to become a leader in the suffrage movement and found the Scottish Women's Hospital organisation in World War I, but when she jointly founded the college she was still a medical student. Her father, John Inglis, had been a senior civil servant in India, where he had championed the cause of education for women. On his return to Edinburgh he became a supporter of medical education for women and used his influence to help establish the college. The college was founded in 1889 at a time when women were not admitted to university medical schools in the UK.
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