Description of the attraction
The National Library of Scotland is a relatively young institution. It was founded in 1925. The library is housed in several buildings in the center of Edinburgh, with the main building on the George IV Bridge. Another modern building was built in the 1980s in the southern part of the city.
Prior to the official foundation of the library, the functions of the national library with the right to obtain a legal deposit were performed by the library of the Bar Association. It was founded in 1689 and received the status of a national library and the right to obtain legal deposit in 1710.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the library stock had grown so much that it became too large for a private organization, and the library was donated to the Scottish nation. A special act of parliament in 1925 was the establishment of the National Library of Scotland. Sir Alexander Grant donated two hundred thousand pounds sterling for the library and the construction of a new building for it. The building began to be built in 1938, but the Second World War prevented construction, and it was only completed in 1956. In the early 90s, a new modern building was constructed in the southern part of Edinburgh, which houses both storage facilities and reading rooms.
The library's collection contains many rare books and manuscripts: the Gutenberg Bible, Charles Darwin's cover letter attached to the Origin of Species manuscript, The First Folio - the first collection of Shakespeare's plays in the folio, the last letter to Mary Stuart. Also in the collection of the library is a large collection of geographical maps.
