Did you know that at Edinburgh Libraries we have three different downloadable audiobook services? Want to know why and the reasons you need to check them all?!
We have eaudiobooks on Libby, BorrowBox and uLIBRARY. You can listen to these on your mobile phone, tablet or computer. We have 7380 titles and 121,497 copies!
We have three because we can’t get all the titles available from one supplier. This way we can offer as wide a range as possible with each service having a different selection of authors and titles. Each service has its own app and website.
Libby has books for adults, teens and children. BorrowBox and uLIBRARY just have adult stock (uLIBRARY does have a monthly children’s book club title too though!).
Not all publishers will sell downloadable audiobooks to libraries. Hence why some best-selling authors and titles might be missing from our collections.
Titles from a series of books might appear on a couple of different services. This is because publishers sell the rights to produce audiobooks and different producers win the rights to books in the same series. i.e. you’ll find audiobooks from Lin Anderson’s Rhona MacLeod books and Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters series on Libby and BorrowBox and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series appears on both Libby and uLIBRARY. Check all of our services when looking for a series!
eAudiobooks do appear on our library catalogue so you can check here for what services specific titles might be found on. But…the library catalogue is not always up-to-date regarding eaudiobooks as there will be a delay in adding the record for new stock and in removing the record for titles we no longer have. There is also no direct link to the app version from the catalogue (just the web site) so you need to open the app and search for the title anyway if you are wanting to use the app. So… the catalogue can be a guide to what we have, but you do need to check with the audiobook platforms to be completely sure.
Bottom line is check all our audiobook services if you are looking for audiobooks! If you have any questions about our audiobook services please get in touch at informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk
Chile – 50 years on, a display on the Mezzanine level at Central Library
Monday September 11 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the violent military coup d’état that took place in the South American country, Chile. On this date, the democratically elected president Salvador Allende was overthrown and forced into taking his own life in the presidential palace in Santiago. Following the military’s seizure of power, the new self-proclaimed head of state, General Augusto Pinochet oversaw a violent, authoritarian, and oppressive regime that brought immeasurable misery upon the lives of many thousands of Chilean people.
Photograph of collection of books called ‘Plantas De Chile’ which were books produced in the early 1970s to educate Chileans on their history and culture. These books were banned by the military regime and often burned.
Throughout September, Central Library is commemorating these disastrous events with a display of material that aims to celebrate the history and culture of Chile before the coup, tell the story of those fateful days in September 1973 and examine the reality of life thereafter. The display includes the testimonies of people who were tortured at the hands of the new regime. Many people lost their life or were forever disfigured and tortured for refusing to show allegiance.
Photograph of exhibition case showing a testimony of someone who was sent to a concentration camp at Dawson Island, in the South of Chile in 1974.
On Monday 4 September we had a very successful launch event for the exhibition, where we heard about the history of Chile from Chilean refugee, Carlos Arredondo who fled the country via Argentina as a child. There was music and traditional folk songs of Chile as well first-hand eyewitness accounts from other survivors also.
Photograph of Carlos Arredondo playing guitar at the exhibition launch event
The exhibition launch is not the only event taking place this month regarding Chile. On 14 September, CinemaAttic come to Central Library to screen Chilean director, Manuela Martelli’s film ‘1976’, also known as Chile’76. This film will be shown in the beautiful Reference Library. Book your free ticket for the 1976 screening online.
Do you know someone who would benefit from free access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, but who are not a member of the library? This New Year you can get free instant access to Edinburgh Libraries Libby service without a library card. Thousands of best-selling titles for adults, teens and children are available to read on your phone, tablet or computer. It’s a fantastic way to make the most of your electronic Christmas presents and to save money. Please spread the word to relatives and friends!
No library card? No problem! From the 10 January – 9 February 2023 if you are over 16 years old you can sign up for an Instant Digital Card in seconds. All you need is a mobile phone number and the access code – Library2go. To find out how to get started go to http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/IDC.
The Instant Digital Card gives you access to Libby for three months. However, you can keep on using the service for free by joining the library and receiving a permanent membership card. Join online through http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/joinourlibrary
Contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk if you have any questions about our downloadable services.
This year’s brilliant title is How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie which is outrageously funny, compulsive, and subversive. A wickedly dark romp about class, family, love… and murder. They say you can’t choose your family. But you can kill them. Meet Grace Bernard. Daughter, sister, serial killer…Grace has lost everything. And she will stop at nothing to get revenge.
As usual the ebook can be accessed on tablet, smartphone, computer or ereader (except regular Kindles!) and full instructions can be found on our Libby help pages. Why not encourage your friends and family to read it too and host your own book group get-together!
For further information contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk
The August exhibition in the Art and Design Library is “Embrace the Elemental” by Edinburgh-based artist and musician, Burnt Paw. It features experimental watercolours, oil pastel paintings and charcoal impressions. He found inspiration from a recent trip to the United States, where he explored the Rodin Museum collections in Philadelphia and the Renaissance art collections in the National Gallery in Washington D. C. Closer to home, he found inspiration for this new body of work within the pages of some of the Art and Design Library’s own books. He has renewed his fascination with Georgia O’Keefe’s stunning colour-dream paintings in the many books on her work held in the library, as well as Alfred Stieglitz’s portraits of O’Keefe’s elegant hands, which feature in books in our photography collection.
The artist explains his art and vision in his own words:
“Within the realm of the elemental, the body becomes an unknown landscape, colour is a sacred energy, drawing is an act of transformation. I move between figurative and abstract images to open up spaces of sensory and psychic exploration. My images dissolve and drift outwards from the edges of body and landscape into luminous encounters with elemental energies. My quest is a search for images. As both an artist and musician, my practice is a constantly shifting exploration of creative energy to seek realms of illumination, healing and the potential for transformation.”
Burnt Paw’s work has been shown in exhibitions in the United States as well as the UK. As a resident of Edinburgh, he is a regular participant in the Colony of Artists exhibitions in the Abbeyhill Colonies. He describes himself as a “fingerstyle psychedelic-folk musician” and has collaborated with many inspirational sound makers in countless music gigs.
The exhibition runs from 2nd to 30th August in the Art and Design Library. We look forward to seeing you there!
Do you know someone who would benefit from free access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, but who are not a member of the library? This New Year you can get free instant access to Edinburgh Libraries Libby from OverDrive service without a library card. Thousands of best-selling titles for adults, teens and children are available to read on your phone, tablet or computer. It’s a fantastic way to make the most of your electronic Christmas presents and to save money. Please spread the word to relatives and friends!
No library card? No problem! From the 18 January – 16 February 2022 if you are over 13 years old you can sign up for an Instant Digital Card in seconds. All you need is a mobile phone number and the access code – Library2go. To find out how to get started go to www.edinburgh.gov.uk/IDC.
The Instant Digital Card gives you access to Libby for three months. However, you can keep on using the service for free by joining the library and receiving a permanent membership card. Join online through www.edinburgh.gov.uk/joinourlibrary Contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk if you have any questions about our downloadable services.
Get in the Christmas spirit by indulging in a seasonal read. Can’t be bothered getting off the sofa to get one? No problem as we’ve got some great “always available” titles that you can access on your phone, tablet or computer.
Nothing like a festive romance set in the country to get you in the yuletide mood. A Country Village Christmas by the very aptly named Suzanne Snow will be available on Libby throughout December. Can the magic of Christmas bring two lost souls together in love? Olivia doesn’t have time for Christmas or for romance. This year, she’s spending the festive season packing up her dad’s old house. But her dad failed to mention she wouldn’t be spending her time there alone…
‘I absolutely loved this beautiful, cosy, heart warming read that was so much more than just a Christmas book. This was the perfect escapism read.’
For something completely different try listening to James Patterson’s19th Christmas on our BorrowBox service. Christmas is coming, but crime never stops for the Women’s Murder Club. Sergeant Lindsay Boxer is looking forward to spending time with her family, but when she receives a tip-off that the biggest heist ever to hit San Francisco is being planned for Christmas Day, everything changes.
“Murder, mayhem and mystery. It’s a slow burner opening, stick with it as it picks up pace. A most unlikely twist, the ending is not obvious even to seasoned Paterson readers. Thought that it was going to be a dud but no it’s a cracker.”
Set on the Scottish island of Islay, The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan, is a gripping story filled with emotion. Head to BorrowBox to hear how Alex Hyde, business adviser, heads to Kentallen Distilleries to help CEO Lochlan Farquhar, before he brings the company to its knees. But as she gets closer to him, boundaries become blurred and Alex finds herself faced with an impossible choice as she realizes nothing and no-one is as they first seemed.
“If you’re anything like us, then a book by Karen Swan has become synonymous with Christmas, and her latest is arguably her best yet … smart plots, brilliant characters and juicy romance”
Get traditional with an ebook by the world’s most famous Christmas writer – Charles Dickens. Read his A Christmas Carol, preferably with a mince pie and a glass of port in hand. Available on Libby by OverDrive.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, miserable, bitter old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a scary journey to show him the error of his nasty ways. By visiting his past, present and future, Scrooge learns to love Christmas and the people all around him.
‘The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house.’ On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.
Find full user instructions for all our downloadable services at Your Library and lots more always available titles on Libby.
Music, writing non-fiction or fiction, art, painting, poetry, sculpture – all these things can and have inspired the others. In this short blog and our display in the Music Library on the mezzanine of Central Library, we have highlighted a few items from or collections of music which has been inspired by Scottish writers or writings.
Often a collaboration between a writer and a composer is a result of a meeting, a long-held wish to work and share ideas with a like-minded soul. As often as these collaborations are real meetings, just as often they are separated by distance, by language or by time, or all three.
The earliest collaboration in our display, a real collaboration, is between the poet Allan Ramsay and the composer Lorenzo Bocchi.
Allan Ramsay (1686 – 1758), wigmaker, poet and literary antiquary, also responsible for opening a theatre in Edinburgh and turning his wig making shop into one of the earliest lending libraries.
Ramsay trained as a wigmaker, a noble profession in the 1700s but it was the literary arts where he seemed to find his calling. In 1712, the year of his marriage, he also helped to found the Easy Club, a Jacobite literary society. His pennames whilst involved in the club were Isaac Bickerstaff and Gawin Douglas. Later, in 1736, he opened a theatre in Carrubbers Close off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, despite much opposition from the Presbyterian establishment. During its three years, Ramsay wrote an impassioned plea in an open letter, extolling the benefits and moral advantages of having an appropriate outlet for the theatre arts but ultimately he was forced to close .
During its lifetime, Ramsay changed his shop from a wigmakers, which had a few books to a book shop and a book shop which was also a lending library. Patrons could rent books, rather than buy books to furnish their bookshelves, they were able to rent titles by the month or by the year.
It is known that Ramsay met the composer and cellist Lorenzo Bocchi prior to his publication of the Gentle Shepherd. Not much is known of Lorenzo Bocchi. Born in the later 1600s in Italy and probably arrived in Edinburgh around 1720 with the Scottish tenor Alexander Gordon. Bocchi worked on “A Scots Cantata and The Gentle Shepherd with Ramsay. In his book the Life After Death: The Viola Da Gamba in Britian from Purcell to Dolmetsch, Peter Holman, gives a brief outline of Bocchi’s life and states that Bocchi was probably Viola Da Gamba Player, citing his compositions for that instrument. Bocchi seems to move between Ireland and Edinburgh publishing music in both places and the last mention of him is in Edinburgh in 1729. Ramsay published the Gentle Shepherd in 1725. It is probable that the inclusion of songs and the development of this poem from the pastoral comedy it was published as, to the ballad opera as it became known, was due to Ramsay’s work with Bocchi.
The “big three” Scottish writers which composers return to time and again are Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Of the three it is only Stevenson who wrote music and there exists some Robert Louis Stevenson songs with words and music by Stevenson, there is not much and it is said to be naïve. Burns poems have been set by many different people in many different ways but they almost take second place to the words, such as Burns socialist anthem “A Mans a Man for a’ that” or the the great love songs “Ae Fond Kiss” or “My love is like a Red Red Rose”. Sir Walter Scott wrote big expansive novels with the kind of storytelling which lends itself to opera. Many of Scott’s works were turned into the librettos of works which are still the staples of the opera house.
Nannie from Tam O’Shanter by George Cruikshank, 1884 Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
We have displayed three versions of Tam O’Shanter by Robert Burns. Burns’ epic poem was first published in 1791. The first of the three versions we have on show is not music but an illustrated version produced by the artist George Cruikshank. This edition was published in 1884, shortly after Cruikshank’s death. Cruikshank, son of Edinburgh born caricaturist Isaac Cruikshank, was born in London in 1792. Initially like his brother, Isaac Robert, he followed in the family business of caricatures. In the 1820s however, George took a different path into book illustration. Cruikshank worked regularly with Charles Dickens (aka BOZ).
“Sketches by Boz” (Charles Dickens), illustrated by the British artist George Cruikshank, front cover. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
There are two musical illustrations of Tam O’Shanter, the first by Learmont Drysdale (1866 – 1909). Drysdale died young, but in his short life produced many interesting works, one of which was performed at the Proms in London. Unfortunately his works are now most forgotten and overlooked. Drysdale’s concert overture Tam O’ Shanter, was awarded a prize of thirty guineas by the Glasgow Society of Musicians in 1891 and was given its first performance in the same year in a series of concerts given by the Glasgow Choral Union. It is true that like most of Drysdale’s works, it is rarely performed and remains unrecorded. The score of Tam O’Shanter was awarded a posthumous publication under the Carnegie Trust in 1921.
On the other hand, Sir Malcolm Arnold’s 1955 Tam O’Shanter concert overture is a regular on the concert platform and often included in CDs. It was given its first performance at the proms of 1955, this musical version of Burns magical tale is like a lot of Arnold’s music programmatic and cinematic in its scale.
Lots of people have had a go at either setting the words of Tam O’Shanter to music or interpreting it in music – Eugene Goossens, George Chadwick, Jim Malcolm, John Mason, with more classical interpretations, jazz and folk versions, narrated and without the spoken verse.
Scott seems to have captured the imagination of so many composers, we have featured six works by six different composers taken from more than six of Scott’s novels. Many more of Scotts novels have been adapted for the operatic stage and his words have inspired songs and music almost as soon as they appeared.
Our list of operas based on the works of Sir Walter Scott are in no order whatsoever, Ivanhoe, Lucia Di Lammermoor, The Fair Maid of Perth, Jeanie Deans, La Dame Blanche and La Donna del Lago.
Of the list above La Dame Blanche (The White Lady) is based on no fewer than five Scott novels including Guy Mannering (1815), The Monastery (1820), and The Abbot (1820). The Opera was composed by François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775 – 1834) in 1825. It is perhaps now best known for its overture. Boieldieu is remembered as an opera composer but of his other works the harp concerto in C Major, is a staple of the harp repertoire. One other work of interest is a collaboration between Boieldieu and eight other French and Italian Composers, in the unsettled times after the 1830 (July) Revolution and at an Opéra-Comique which was struggling financially, Boieldieu, Auber, Batton, Berton, Blangini, Carafa, Cherubini, Hérold and Paer, worked to produce an opera – La marquise de Brinvilliers, in a very short space of time. The opera had a limited run and was relatively successful at the time, it was repeated by the Opéra-Comique for a short run but there has been no recorded performances since.
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, University of Salford Press Office, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Peter Maxwell Davies (1934 – 2016), long-term resident of the Orkney isles found inspiration from a novel by fellow Orcadian, George Mackay Brown (1921 – 1996), Magnus. Magnus was Mackay Brown’s second novel published in 1973, Davies created his own libretto for his one act opera, The Martyrdom of St Magnus. This work was commissioned by the BBC for the Silver Jubilee of the Queen in 1977 and given its first performance in Kirkwall, Orkney as part of the St Magnus Festival.
Davis turned to a work of non-fiction for the subject of his 1980 opera, The Lighthouse. The book by Craig Mair, ’A Star for Seamen’ is a work charting the engineering successes of the Stevenson family, known by many as the Lighthouse Stevensons. The Scottish historian recounts in the very few details of the story of the Flannan lighthouse and the disappearance of the three keepers. On the 26th December 1900, the supply ship Hesperus tied up at the leeward side of the island, As usual expecting to be met by one of the keepers to take ashore their supplies. When no one came to meet the ship, the captain sent a runner ashore to go to the lighthouse. There they found the lighthouse deserted and no signs of struggle. As if the keepers had just stepped out for a moment. The last entry in the headkeeper’s log was made on the 15th December at 9.00am and passing ships had reported seeing a light on the evening of the 14th December. The three keepers seem to have vanished into thin air. Various theories have been put forward into their disappearance, but nothing has, or ever will be, proved.
Robert Louis Stevenson, the black sheep of the Lighthouse Stevenson family and despite some early training in the ways of the family and the engineering of the Lighthouse, he pursued his literary/artistic bent. As one of the big, go to, names of Scottish literature, there have been a lot of settings of Robert Louis Stevenson words, we have included three. A setting of three verses for A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885) by Leon Coates, it was written in 1990 and premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe of that year. Jekyll and Hyde the Musical by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse, from the 1886 Novella the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. A setting of the song – She Rested By the Broken Brook from Songs of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson, music by Samuel Coleridge Taylor.
Tommy Smith recording his epic Modern Jacobite piece with The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra DerekClarkPhoto, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Side Portrait of Scottish poet Edwin Morgan, aged 89 Alex Boyd, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Separated by 47 years but sharing the same birthday, Tommy Smith, the Edinburgh born saxophonist and composer, and poet Edwin Morgan were born on the 27 April 1967 and 1920 respectively. Their working collaboration began in 1996 with the album on show in our display, The Beasts of Scotland, commissioned by the Glasgow International Jazz Festival. Smith and Morgan continued to work together on projects until the poet’s death in 2010.
Of the other things on show in our Music Library display is a novel by Scots Makar Jackie Kay, Trumpet, inspired by the life of Billy Tipton, a jazz saxophonist and band leader, born Dorothy Lucille Tipton in 1914. Around 1933, Dorothy started binding her breasts and dressing in suits to fit in to the jazz lifestyle. Tipton never legally married but 5 women called themselves Mrs Tipton, it was not until Tipton was on his death bed and lifesaving procedures were being attempted, Billy’s secret was discovered.
Alexander McCall Smith, the most prolific of Scottish writers penned a libretto for the opera, The Okavango Macbeth, with music by the composer Tom Cunningham, based on the play by William Shakespeare.
Many of these works and many more examples of the collaborations inspired by Scottish writers and writings are available at our streaming sites Naxos Classical and Naxos Jazz, many of the operas are available to watch at MediciTV and of course, many of the original novels and writings are available to borrow form our Libraries around Edinburgh or as ebooks or audiobooks from Libby or Borrowbox.
Join millions of others around the world in reading a fantastic young adult thriller novel during the Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From 1-15 November, readers can borrow and read the ebook and audiobook versions of Five Total Strangers by Natalie D Richards from our Libby by OverDrive service. Perfect for suspense fans, borrow this chilling ride of a book with no waiting lists on the Libby app or by visiting our Libby website.
Inthis novel Mira thought being stranded was the worst thing that could happen. She was wrong.Needing to get home for the holidays when an incoming blizzard results in a cancelled connecting flight, it looks like Mira might get stuck at the airport indefinitely. Then her seatmate from her initial flight, offers to drop her off on their way home. But as they set off, Mira realizes her fellow travellers are all total strangers. And every one of them is hiding something. Soon, roads go from slippery to terrifying. People’s belongings are mysteriously disappearing. Someone in the car is clearly lying, and may even be sabotaging the trip—but why? And can Mira make it home alive, or will this nightmare drive turn fatal?
The book will be available on the home page of the Libby app and the Libby website from the 1 November and with unlimited downloads is perfect for discussing with your friends and family. You can even discuss the book online or use #biglibraryread on social media from the 1-15 November for a chance to win a tablet, Libby goodies and signed books by the author.Full instructions for using Libby can be found on our Your Library website.
This November we are re-starting face-to-face digital help sessions!
Do you need a hand getting started or troubleshoot problems with our ebook, audiobook, magazine and newspaper services? On Tuesday afternoons in November we are running sessions in the Central Library where you can bring your device along and we’ll help you get set up.
Not ready for face-to-face help yet? Our team can still support you remotely via phone call or email. Please contact us via email at: informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk or message us on Facebook or Twitter.
This year’s brilliant title is Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro which has been nominated for 2021’s Booker Prize. In his first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly-changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love? From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change for ever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.
As usual the ebook can be accessed on tablet, smartphone, computer or ereader (except regular Kindles!) and full instructions can be found on our OverDrive help pages. Why not encourage your friends and family to read it too and host your own book group get-together!
For further information contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk
Its Read an eBook Day! Organised as a celebration of modern storytelling, by our ebook provider OverDrive. You can be part of the festivities by checking out an ebook from Edinburgh Libraries. Join in the conversation by sharing what you’re reading, why you love ebooks and by using the hashtag #ebooklove on social media.
Not tried our ebook service yet? Then now is the perfect time! we’ve got thousands of great titles to borrow for adults, teens and kids. You can use them on your tablet, phone, computer or ebook reader (except Kindles). Find out everything you need to know at http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/overdrive.
Edinburgh Libraries continue to bring awareness of diversity and inclusion in the public arena by teaming up with Trellis for Mental Health Awareness Week whose theme this year is nature. Trellis the place to go for know-how about therapeutic gardening and the art of using gardening to help people take care of their physical, emotional and social well being. To get to know more about Trellis visit: www.trellisscotland.org.uk
Today, we hand over to Trellis to tell us how to connect with nature.
“You probably know that feeling that comes when you’ve been in a garden for a little while: a subtle slowing of your heart rate, a moment when you notice all is quiet inside your head – the anxious, irritated thoughts from earlier, now gone, and your breathing, fallen into an even, easy rhythm. You may find you’ve lost track of time, the knot in your shoulders has loosened up. These are the feel-good effects offered by gardens or parks, for free, any time you care to wander out and let them have a few minutes to do their thing.
Trellis is the charity that promotes and supports therapeutic gardening all across Scotland. That means harnessing these feel-good effects and deliberately using them to help people feel better and improve their quality of life. Gardening is used to help people manage or recover from depression, stroke or trauma. It can be a way to build strength after an accident and a step towards getting back into work. Garden programmes help people build confidence, gain qualifications and surprise themselves and others with their achievements. They help people stay fit or manage chronic pain. No matter the circumstances, we offer guidance on adapting gardening so its benefits are within reach for everyone.
Therapeutic gardening with Trellis
Did you know just being near a plant can reduce your blood pressure, slow your heart rate and decrease feelings of pain, stress and fear? There are some fascinating Japanese and Korean studies that have measured such changes taking place, though the precise mechanisms remain somewhat mysterious. We don’t know quite how gardening works its magic on us, simply that it does.
Therapeutic gardening with Trellis
Gardens restore us in so many ways, coaxing us into a better mood or getting us moving when we don’t feel like it, or, when a beautiful blossom opens, gently distracting us from nagging worries. It’s no wonder then, that each week skilled practitioners at 480 therapeutic gardening projects harness these benefits, helping over 12,000 people feel better. For Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, why not try out the feel-good effects of gardening for yourself with some easy tips coming your way.
Lots of people can relate to the idea of gardening being therapeutic, but there’s lots more to find out about the amazing therapeutic gardening projects quietly tending corners of neighbourhoods across the country. What is a Therapeutic Garden?
A tender and tasty treat that is easy to grow and perfectly suited to our cool northern climate, why not try your hand at raising a crop of broad beans this year? How to Grow Broad Beans
Everyone loves a fairy tale – and you can create your own beautiful, enchanted world in a small corner, even if you don’t have an outdoor space. Fairy Gardens
Peas are possibly the nation’s favourite vegetable and easy-peasy to grow, producing a feast for the eyes as a bonus with their gorgeous, scented flowers. They’re the perfect take away food – no washing or preparation required. Early Peas
Watching wildlife from your window or doorstep is a great way to switch off for a moment and allow your mind some breathing space. Here’s a cheap and simple way to welcome the birds to your place. Cheery Cheerio Ring Bird Feeder“
How to get your replacement hearing aid batteries during COVID
There is a special COVID-19 service in operation so that you can get replacement hearing aid batteries.
To get supplies of hearing aid batteries while libraries are still closed, contact the audiology department in Lauriston Building.
For replacement batteries, please contact the audiology department by phone or email. If you are unable to do this, you can also send your yellow battery book to the address below.
For repairs, post the faulty hearing aid to the address on the back of your battery book with you name and date of birth and description of the problem. Audiology will try to repair hearing aids on the day they are received and post them back the same day via first class post.
Audiology contact details: NHS Lothian Adult Audiology Level 1, Lauriston Building 39 Lauriston Place Edinburgh EH3 9HA
Take your yellow battery book which shows how many hearing aids you have and what type of batteries you need to your nearest open library.
The type of battery you need is shown on the inside cover of the battery book.
Library staff will check your yellow battery book and issue you with the correct replacement hearing aid batteries.
If you do not have your yellow battery book Library staff will still issue you with replacement hearing aid batteries. They will remind you to bring the book next time. If you have lost your yellow battery book you will need to contact the audiology department and they will send a new book out to you. See contact details for audiology above.
Hearing Aid Batteries To get supplies of hearing aid batteries while libraries are still closed, contact the audiology department: NHS Lothian Adult Audiology, Level 1, Lauriston Building, 39 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9HA 0131 536 1637 (10am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm) or email audiology@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk. When libraries are open, you will be able to take your yellow battery book to your nearest open library for replacement batteries.
And later this week on the blog: In conversation with Nick Colemanand Professor Raymond MacDonald We are honoured to be in conversation with two renowned professionals raising awareness on music and deafness. Nick Coleman and Professor Raymond MacDonald.
Composers, musicians and hearing loss Douglas and Natasha from the Music Library will take a look at some composers and performers who have experienced hearing loss and highlight their music available to enjoy on Naxos Music Library.
There are now over 3000 worldwide magazines available on our Libby app and OverDrive website! If you were previously a fan of RBdigital magazines you’ll find them all here as well as thousands more exciting titles.
As well as bestselling UK magazines, there are loads of great titles from English-speaking countries such as the USA, Australia and Canada. And if you want to practice your language skills you’ll find mags in French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish and many more languages too.
On Libby there’s a couple of magazine collections on the homepage to whet your apetite, but if you click on Explore, you can access the Magazines reading room. On the web version just click on Magazines near to top of the homepage. In the magazines reading room you’ll find them divided into genres such as Home & Garden; News & Current Affairs; Motoring; Health, Sport & Fitness; Cooking; Computing; Arts & Crafts; Movies, TV & Music; History etc. –
Libby/OverDrive is now home to thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and comics that are all free to download. All you need is your Edinburgh Libraries membership card and PIN to access all these amazing resources. Share the news with your Edinburgh-based friends and family – they can easily join online at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/joinourlibrary. Full instructions for accessing OverDrive can be found at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/overdrive.
Whilst libraries are closed you can still access a fantastic free range of online services to fulfill your reading needs.
Put your tablet, phone or computer to good use by accessing our Library2go collection of downloadable ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and newspapers www.edinburgh.gov.uk/library2go –
Libby / OverDrive– our essential app and website for adults and kids with thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, comics and coming soon – magazines.
PressReader– thousands of Scottish, UK and worldwide newspapers and magazines. Download your daily newspaper for free.
Help is available too to get you started or answer any questions you may have about these services – just email the Your Library Helpline at informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk with your contact details and what you need help with and we’ll email/phone you back.
Please spread the message to friends and family who may not be members of the library and who could benefit from these services. You can easily join online at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/joinourlibrary and be downloading before you know it!
In planning the re-opening of Edinburgh’s libraries, we have considered different approaches adopted by our colleagues in many services across Scotland and more widely afield in England, Northern Ireland and Europe.
We are confident that opening our buildings in this phased approach follows the Scottish Government guidelines and maintains health, safety and comfort for our staff and customers.
The first phase of opening will see a selection of library buildings across the city reopening on Tuesday 13 October.
We envisage that, initially at least, services will be limited to browsing and borrowing, returning items, free access to computers, internet and WiFi, support with National Entitlement card online applications, Hey Girls free sanitary provision, hearing aid batteries, printing and photocopying.
As you might expect, numbers within buildings will be limited, social distancing measures will be in place and some services will only be available by booking in advance.
The 6 libraries are Central, Kirkliston, McDonald Road, Fountainbridge, Stockbridge and Newington.
We will of course continue to closely monitor developments and government guidance as the situation can change rapidly as you’ll have seen from other areas of Scotland and the UK.
Our Home Delivery service continues to deliver library books to our most vulnerable and housebound customers, and our digital and online services have remained active throughout – you can use your card to access resources.
We appreciate your support and look forward to welcoming you back.
We’re really looking forward to welcoming you back to our buildings soon, and are currently working hard on plans for a phased re-opening to keep everyone safe. Soon we’ll be accepting returned books back and re-opening a few of the branch libraries. We’re likely to open initially with reduced opening hours and facilities, and visiting will include a range of new measures to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort. We’ll be releasing more information about when this will be and what this will involve over the next few weeks, and we really appreciate your patience as we take time to plan this carefully.
Capital Collections (www.capitalcollections.org) provides a window into Edinburgh Libraries’ Special Collections and gives the public opportunity to view photographs, illustrations and books in a manner that makes them much more accessible to a wider audience. The latest Capital Collections exhibition displays a digitised view of one such special book, ‘A Frog he would a-wooing go’ brimming with gorgeous, colourful images by the acclaimed and widely celebrated artist Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886).
‘A Frog he would a-wooing go’, front cover
The book was first published in 1883 as part of a series of highly successful picture books illustrated by Caldecott for children. His success continued throughout the 19th century and by 1884, sales of Caldecott’s Nursery Rhymes, which by this point consisted of twelve books, reached 867,000 copies leading him to international acclaim. Despite his relatively short life time, Caldecott work is considered to have been transformative in the nature of children’s book in the Victorian era. Caldecott is considered a leading figure in children’s literature with his work considered part of the influential ‘nursery triumvirate’, along with Walter Crane and Kate Greenway. Following the popularity of these authors it became the norm for children’s books to consist of more images and less text.
‘”Pray, Mr. Frog, will you give us a song?” Heigho, says Rowley! “But let it be something that’s not very long.” With a rowley-powley, gammon and spinach, Heigho, says Anthony Rowley!’ from ‘A Frog he would a-wooing go’
This book tells the story of a Frog, with the help of his friend the Rat, as he attempts to gain the affection of a Mouse. His books such as the one presented in this exhibition, are praised for their sense of fluidity and repeated phrases, which creates a sense of movement from one page to the other, a style which appeals to children. Not only do Caldecott’s books have a bright, humorous and inviting nature, their brilliance lies in his ability to express subtle but profound meaning in stories dominated by image and only supplemented with text.
The Capital Collections exhibition attempts to highlight the brilliance and vibrancy of Caldecott’s work. Although originally marketed at children, the images in this book are full of life and can be enjoyed by young and old alike, those with an interest in the history of children’s illustration and those who simply appreciate Caldecott’s artistic style.
Browse all the pages from this delightful Victorian illustrated children’s book on Capital Collections.
Did you know that at Edinburgh Libraries we have three different downloadable audiobook services? Want to know why and the reasons you need to check them all?!
Do you know someone who would benefit from free access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, but who are not a member of the library? This New Year you can get free instant access to Edinburgh Libraries Libby service without a library card. Thousands of best-selling titles for adults, teens and children are available to read on your phone, tablet or computer. It’s a fantastic way to make the most of your electronic Christmas presents and to save money. Please spread the word to relatives and friends!
We are holding another UK 
The August exhibition in the Art and Design Library is “Embrace the Elemental” by Edinburgh-based artist and musician, Burnt Paw. It features experimental watercolours, oil pastel paintings and charcoal impressions. He found inspiration from a recent trip to the United States, where he explored the Rodin Museum collections in Philadelphia and the Renaissance art collections in the National Gallery in Washington D. C. Closer to home, he found inspiration for this new body of work within the pages of some of the Art and Design Library’s own books. He has renewed his fascination with Georgia O’Keefe’s stunning colour-dream paintings in the many books on her work held in the library, as well as Alfred Stieglitz’s portraits of O’Keefe’s elegant hands, which feature in books in our photography collection.
“Within the realm of the elemental, the body becomes an unknown landscape, colour is a sacred energy, drawing is an act of transformation. I move between figurative and abstract images to open up spaces of sensory and psychic exploration. My images dissolve and drift outwards from the edges of body and landscape into luminous encounters with elemental energies. My quest is a search for images. As both an artist and musician, my practice is a constantly shifting exploration of creative energy to seek realms of illumination, healing and the potential for transformation.”
Burnt Paw’s work has been shown in exhibitions in the United States as well as the UK. As a resident of Edinburgh, he is a regular participant in the Colony of Artists exhibitions in the Abbeyhill Colonies. He describes himself as a “fingerstyle psychedelic-folk musician” and has collaborated with many inspirational sound makers in countless music gigs.
Nothing like a festive romance set in the country to get you in the yuletide mood. A Country Village Christmas by the very aptly named Suzanne Snow will be available on 
For something completely different try listening to James Patterson’s19th Christmas on our 
Set on the Scottish island of Islay, The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan, is a gripping story filled with emotion.
Get traditional with an ebook by the world’s most famous Christmas writer – Charles Dickens. Read his A Christmas Carol, preferably with a mince pie and a glass of port in hand. Available on 
Listen to a classic Christmas murder tale with A Mystery in White by J.Jefferson Farjeon with 
Tales of One City 