The aesthetic of shaping Scotland – the Scottish National Portrait Gallery Library

Scottish National Portrait Library

A couple of weeks ago I had a dilemma – the budget spreadsheet (all hail to) or a last-minute place on the  joint ARLIS / SVAG visits to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery Library, and also to the Research Library of the National Museum of Scotland.

However they were fab visits.

This is Part One of Two as it were, and hopefully Part Two on the Research Library will follow before Easter break!

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery

This recently re-opened after an extensive refurbishment project  having been closed to the public since Spring 2009 (with all the staff and services operating out of transitional premises, including the Library).

While it looks exactly the same from the outside and a lot of the original glorious features look as good as ever, a lot of additional space has also been created inside for the collections.

The Library

As part of this process the existing very glorious looking library of 1891 was moved and re-installed within the building.  The Library is one room split in half by a ziggurat.  

The end facing the gallery spaces is open to  the public to come in, and the part behind the ziggurat is a secure entry appointment-only part for visitors to consult specific items put aside for them (no physical browsing upstairs on the balcony, queries need to be submitted and items brought).

The re-installation looks very successful, though a few alterations had to be made and there are some issues with lighting levels, concealed heating systems warping the wood etc.

Incorporating the Library with the Gallery Spaces



Burke and Hare



Various small pieces within the SNPG collection have been put on display within the Library to link the Library to the Gallery spaces it adjoins and give a suitable space for small items .

Therefore the Library has displays of portrait miniatures, sculpture pieces, casts, a Cabinet of Curiosities).

As part of the re-installation the Library can now be walked directly into by visitors to view the displays and look around.



Desk with browsing books for public



It is longer wholly closed access to staff only, but due to staffing constraints research resources are available by appointment only as staff have to look out all the relevant materials on researchers’ behalf.

The Collection

The collection has around 50,000 items, for reference only unless staff, which range from early auction house catalogues to lots of Scottish biography monographs. There are various built up special collections which are added to on an on-going basis e.g. around 26,00 ‘Sitters’ Files’ of reproductions of portraits of eminent Scots who have sat for portraits held in SNPG or elsewhere and ‘Artists’ Files’, being around 30,000 photo’s of portraits by Scottish artists.  There is also the archives of the SNPG itself.

Tradition and The Shock of the New Side by Side



Part of the Cardex system



Through a door from the very elegant wooden secure access part of the Library you walk directly into an entirely different Library space full of large shiny metal industrial-looking shelving systems environmentally controlled.  This allows items to be selected and delivered and kept compactly. In here are mainly prints, drawings, photographs. Back journal runs are kept downstairs and various older material off-site.

The Library has some online subscriptions e.g. Dictionary of National Biography. Various digital projects are on-going.

Opening up collections v Access

Being accessible by SNPG visitors has made the Library more visible.

The Library will deal with reference enquiries that come in electronically and there are physical enquiry forms at the Information Desk of the Gallery.

There is money to put the catalogue on the website but for the moment many extensive catalogues are print.

The Library is mostly for use by the curatorial staff ,researchers, academic students and those involved in education. Many enquiries relate to Scottish history and family history as well as art history because of the unique nature of SNPG and its collections.

Obviously I felt guilty about the budget spreadsheet…