Based in its iconic Category A-listed building on Edinburgh’s George IV Bridge, the National Library of Scotland was established by an Act of Parliament in 1925. Its collection has since grown to more than 50 million items, with free access afforded to the public. To celebrate its centenary, the National Library of Scotland has programmed a series of events taking place over the coming year.

Dear Library (opening in June) is a new exhibition championing the value of books and libraries in people’s lives. Produced with the assistance of partners from across Scotland, it aims to inspire readers with bookshelves filled with recommendations from members of the public and some well-known Scottish figures. Depicting libraries and librarians as they’ve been portrayed in popular culture, the exhibition features protest banners and badges campaigning for libraries under threat, vintage film footage from the Moving Image Archive, and items loaned from specialist libraries from around Scotland: the Nature Library, Glasgow Women’s Library, Innerpeffray Library, the Making Publics Press and the Library of Mistakes.

From September, a special programme will share treasures from the collection with communities around the country. As part of Outwith: National Library Around Scotland, cultural partners in Aberdeen, Perth and Shetland will display items from the national collection that have particular resonance, and locals will have the opportunity to examine these items and learn about their stories through programmes and events. Aberdeen Art Gallery will display an early edition of Songs and Fancies, published in the city by John Forbes in 1682, coinciding with the centenary of the Art Gallery’s concert venue, Cowdray Hall. In January 2026, Perth Museum, home to the Stone of Destiny, will exhibit Mary Queen of Scots’ last letter, written the night before her execution in 1587. Perth’s AK Bell Library will display archive material from Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off by Liz Lochhead, and a Burns manuscript for Lament of Mary, Queen of Scots on the Approach of Spring. And in March 2026, Shetland Museum and Archives will join in the fun with Shetland-related artefacts on display, including letters and manuscripts from Hugh MacDiarmid.

Treasures of the National Library of Scotland (until March 2026) features a display detailing the institution’s origin story. It features two significant founding documents: the Glenriddell Manuscripts, comprising one of the greatest collections of Robert Burns's handwritten work, and the Order for the Massacre of Glencoe, which led to one of the most notorious events in Scottish history.

To find out more about all these events and more, visit the National Library of Scotland’s website.