Delve into the archives with Scotland’s National Library’s Graeme Hawley
With a great passion for the printed word, Graeme Hawley is the perfect guide to Scotland’s National Library
These shelves hold up the building! It scares me to death!
WHEN Graeme Hawley, head of General Collections at the National Library, took to the stage at the Spirit of Moray Book Festival to perform his rapid-fire slide show, The Joy of Spines, I didn’t know what to expect. It proved to be one of the most captivating literary festival sessions I had ever seen.
Graeme presented the story of the millions of publications found deep in the magnificent buildings of the National Library of Scotland, juxtaposing the hilarious, tender, and diverse world of publishing from books to pamphlets, leaflets to brochures, and even pop-up books.
He also revealed moving details such as the meticulous research invested in self-publishing a family history, for example. The library provides a complete record of social history, from science-based technicalities to that of our attitudes.
Graeme Hawley is a performer with a great sense of the ridiculous, a man who, through his passion for his work, understands the human condition better than the rest of us.
This is mainly because the eternal shelves and storage boxes held in safekeeping are not arranged as I imagined they would be – by subject matter. Instead, it is by size, so that running your eye down a long line of books often reveals amusing bed fellows up against one another – such as Harps in the Wind next to You’ll End up Dead, or 300 Things a Bright Boy Can Do next to 301 Things a Bright Girl Can Do.
I didn’t hesitate to invite Graeme to A Write Highland Hoolie, the book festival I help organise in Mallaig. But his performance as the opening attraction last autumn has given me an impossible task for this year – he is a hard
act to follow. If you’ve never been to the National Library of Scotland – and you really must go – you probably have preconceived ideas about it. Prepare to be surprised. I certainly was when I was privileged to spend a fabulous day there behind the scenes with Graeme.
This legal deposit library – there are only six in the country – has the right to claim a copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland. And I thought it was purely Scottish material housed in its 193km (120 miles) of shelving. There are some 31 million items, and as head of General Collections, Graeme is responsible for more than 14 million of these priceless printed works and five million digital items.
Given Graeme’s passion for his work, it could be assumed he was a keen reader as a child.
“No, not at all! In fact, as a kid, I never really read, and wasn’t interested in make-believe – I still don’t read much fiction. I watched the news and was obsessed with current affairs and nuclear war. I didn’t want to read about pirates, I wanted to understand who Geoffrey Howe was.
“Growing up in the rural West Riding of Yorkshire, natural storytelling was a part of my life and I had an inventive childhood.
“I got into trouble at school because I didn’t stop chatting. It felt unfair because I was, if the teacher had but realised it, talking about the topic in hand.”
We are standing in the magnificent entrance of the library’s George lv Bridge building where my tour begins. Graeme’s chat bubbles on in an effervescent and mesmerising way as he shows me a display case of work by Robert Louis Stevenson.
“We could fill a display case on any topic imaginable. It’s on a scale that is hard to comprehend, as we house every format too: books, maps, manuscripts, photographs, ebooks, leaflets, flyers, diaries, as well as moving image and sound, and work from portable publishing devices – such as mobile phones. Nothing stays the same. Change comes fast and furious.
“It’s a virtuous circle – the more we read and learn, the more we write and share. These changes make it harder for our curators to keep track. The UK has incredible publishing strengths, and every year we receive around £6 million’s worth of material. It’s one of many reasons why we cherish and value our relationship with publishers.”
The collection includes a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, and a letter from Charles Darwin, which was sent to his publisher along with his manuscript for The Origin of Species, as well as Mary, Queen of Scots’ last letter, and countless rare and exceedingly valuable manuscripts. It also safeguards what could be the world’s most extensive collection of Scots Gaelic material.
“We often receive new items when people clear out their attics, even football and theatre programmes. We hold an
archive of Ian Rankin and Muriel Spark’s works, as well as numerous other important contemporary writers. We gratefully receive £1 million from the government every year that is ring-fenced to buy more content.
“Unfortunately, our collection lacked the first copy of The Beano, published by D.C. Thomson in 1938. Recently we managed to buy a copy for some thousands. Sometimes we receive legacies or private library collections. These must be carefully catalogued and stored unless we already have the material.”
We move on up the vast sweeping staircase as Graeme explains a little of the library’s history.
“To begin with, Scotland’s national deposit library was the Advocate’s Library just next door. It was opened first in 1689 and in 1710, when the Copyright Act was passed it gained the legal right to a copy of every book published.
“Then further valuable material was added to the collection. Eventually, in the 1920s, Alexander Grant, the managing director of Mcvitie and Price – biscuit makers – gave an endowment of £100,000 and the library’s contents were handed over to the nation.
“His philanthropy was recognised when he was knighted and became Sir Alexander Grant of Forres. Another hefty donation from him led to the building of a new library on the current site on George lv Bridge. Due to the onset of war, it was not until 1956 that it was opened by the Queen.”
We pass through large reading rooms, offices with high stacks of papers, parcels, books and printed matter, and on into stairwells and long corridors, through locked doors and into the literary underworld of Graeme’s domain. He randomly picks a sturdy cardboard box from a shelf housing paperbacks.
“Let’s see what’s in this one from 1987!”Knitting patterns, comics, papers relating to local societies, and garishly coloured pamphlets advertising events and products – a little over 30 years old and the social changes are instantly tangible.
A member of the Collection Support team appears with a trolley having received a request from the reading room for specific material. It is taken up for a visitor to use perhaps for important
“This must be the heaviest building in Scotland
research – or simply to enjoy. The cataloguing system seems flawless. We move on to where vast rolling stacks contain acres of books.
“Some of these shelves move,” says Graeme as he winds a large handle that slides the girder-strong shelving. It’s as if he is a boat skipper manoeuvring it into port.
“This must be the heaviest building in Scotland, but those shelves on that side don’t move. They hold the building up; frankly, it scares me to death.”
This is a snapshot of Graeme performing his Joy of Spines. He is the right man in the right role: vivacious, enthusiastic, hugely knowledgeable and brilliant with visitors of all ages.
I giggle about Free Trade and Moral Philosophy being placed beside Important Nonsense.
“Great, isn’t it? The best thing is all types of literacy and reading are represented here. By the way, we also have the largest collection of horoscopes in Scotland, and our polar and mountaineering section is one of the finest in the world.
“Our beekeeping collection is outstanding too, and let’s not forget all the car repair manuals.”
The National Library of Scotland is a place for everyone. It is essential to highlight that this is not all about highbrow literature but is far more than that. Throughout the year there are public events, music, acting, and talks as well as stunning exhibitions.
There are impressive plans to expand to make Scotland’s National Library an even more popular hub with a bigger café and a restaurant, a place for people to meet, to share in one of the country’s most exceptional resources. Spend the day there, in Scotland’s National Children’s Book Library, which also doubles up as Scotland’s National Recipe Book Library, and Scotland’s National Magazine Library, and… you get the picture. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. www.nls.uk
Natural storytelling was a part of my life