In his own inimitable style, Fife Provost Jim Leishman has thanked the volunteers who rallied to help preserve the Bard’s collection at Dunfermline Carnegie Library.
The library is packing up its priceless artefacts as a new chapter begins in the town’s heritage.
The world’s first Andrew Carnegie Library will be integrated with the planned £10.8 million museum and art gallery lying at the heart of the heritage quarter of Scotland’s ancient capital.
And before building work starts on the much-anticipated project, members of the library staff have had the mammoth task of cataloguing and moving the 100,000 or so items it houses.
Such was the challenge ahead that the project team working on the new museum and art gallery put out a call for help last autumn, asking volunteers to help clean and pack up its priceless collection of books by Scotland’s bard, Robert Burns.
And the public responded in droves.
Not unknown for his own stirring verses, the former Pars boss delivered a dramatic Address to the Haggis as Burns himself or his rather impressive bust looked on.
“We really appreciate all the volunteers coming along,” he said.