Local heroes will be the focus of a roadshow the National Library of Scotland is to bring to Dunfermline.
National library curators have selected items with particular relevance to Dunfermline and Fife, providing a glimpse into the town’s past.
The roadshow, at Dunfermline Carnegie Library from November 1″“3, will bring with it an array of books, manuscripts, maps, music, and moving images.
Paying homage to some of the area’s heroes, it will include materials relating to well-known names including Jock Stein, Moira Shearer, Andrew Carnegie and Mary Somerville, to name a few.
Martyn Wade, national librarian and chief executive officer of the National Library of Scotland, said, “Through the roadshow we hope to increase our engagement with communities across Scotland, giving a taster of what is on offer at the National Library of Scotland by displaying items with a strong local connection.
“We will have a selection of modern books, which visitors can handle, as well as a variety of interesting images from across our various collections. I’m sure the roadshow, and in particular the items related to local heroes, will prove to be a huge draw for the public.”
A new feature introduced especially for the roadshow’s Dunfermline visit is a talk on Fife hero Mary Somerville, one of the most distinguished and celebrated women in the world of science in the 19th century.
Visitors can hear more about how she overcame the gender restrictions of the age to produce best-selling books that led to international acclaim. The talk will run from 11am to noon on Tuesday.
Also on display will be facsimile copies of music compiled by Fife-born music publisher George Thomson, who commissioned music from notable European composers including Pleyel, Beethoven and Haydn for his famous collections of Scottish song.Historic itemsOther key highlights will be replica pages from the Culross Psalter, a 15th century Book of Psalms, and the Dunfermline Cartulary, a book relating to Dunfermline Abbey.
There will also be a workshop on how to access NLS resources remotely from Dunfermline as the library offers an extensive range of digitised material online.
From 7pm to 8pm on Tuesday, there will be a film show of key films in Scotland’s history, together with footage of Dunfermline and the surrounding area from the Scottish Screen Archive, part of the National Library of Scotland.
There will also be children’s activities and, in a series of tailored workshops, primary five to seven pupils will get the chance to learn how to be a history detective.