All posts by Ms Padgett

Haggis, neeps and poetry

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Burns night is just a couple of weeks away and if you’re looking for a different way to introduce Robert Burns to your class this year, why not open up Nancy’s Life in a Box within Whose Town?

Nancy had kept few personal possessions from her wartime childhood, but on her bookshelf still sat her book prize from the Burns Society’s annual Burns competition. Nancy came 2nd in the competition and if you listen to her entertaining story, you’ll find out how she felt to miss out on the top spot.

Watch video clips with your class and you’ll hear Nancy’s story and even a recital of ‘The Cotter’s Saturday Night’, the poem she chose for the competition. Go to the objects section in Nancy’s Life in a Box to find her poetry prize. (If you don’t have a Glow login, take a look at Nancy’s exhibition on Capital Collections to find out about her wartime schooldays.)

Happy new… zoom?

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The New Year - poem

Our online image library, Capital Collections has a whizzy new zoom function. Use the magnifier to focus in on favourite pictures and see them in incredible detail. Try out the magnifier on this New Year Greeting card.  Simply click on the image within the image record page and zoom in….

The card is taken from one of a collection of  hand-decorated and lovingly compiled Victorian family photograph albums held by Edinburgh City Libraries, known as the Moray Albums. They belonged to a family called the the Stirling Home-Drummond Moray’s, an aristocratic, well-connected Scottish landowning family. If you’re interested to find out more about how the Scottish landed gentry lived, take a look at the beautiful 2nd volume which has been made available as an exhibition on Capital Collections.

What did you get for Christmas?

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There’s nothing left under the tree, the crackers have been pulled and the bubble wrap’s been popped. The winning presents will still be getting played with though, today, tomorrow and the day after that. Capital Collections, our online image library, showcases five exhibitions of the must-have toys of generations past. In the Eighties there were Rubik’s Cubes and Cabbage Patch dolls while the children of the Fifties played with Dan Dare Board Games and skipping ropes. Some toys are perennial favourites. Star Wars Lightsabers were tipped to top Christmas Lists this year, over thirty years after the original figures were produced.

If you were a bit disappointed yesterday with what Santa brought you, spare a thought for the owner of this homemade, but no doubt well-loved toy. (No batteries required.)

This doll is made from an old shoe and someone has spent a lot of time giving it arms and legs and dressing it. It dates from the early 20th Century and is part of a collection of over 600 dolls which belonged to Edward Lovett (1852-1933). Lovett was particularly interested in this type of makeshift doll and travelled extensively collecting these dolls from children in exchange for new ones. This doll also appears in Whose Town? in Levi’s ‘Life in a Box’. The picture is used to give context to Levi’s desperate situation when he arrives in Edinburgh, desolate and penniless. Take a look at Whose Town? and a glimpse into Levi’s childhood.

Warm wishes for a very happy Christmas!

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This Christmas card was made by Alfred Biermann when he was a German prisoner of war in 1946. He was staying at Cultercullen farm in Aberdeenshire whilst captive and made this card for the farmer and his family. (Alfred has used his artistic prerogative and substituted a moose for the more commonly spotted Scottish red deer.)

We found Alfred’s Christmas Card and story on Scran. Scran is an endlessly fascinating resource giving access to 360,000 images, movies and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media. We thought it might be worth mentioning that Scran is available to all Edinburgh City Library members from the comfort of home. We’ve also put together a short film giving you a taster of the myriad of magical things you can find on Scran. So if you’re looking for inspiration for how you can use Scran in the classroom, take a couple of minutes to enjoy the slideshow.

How do you choose a book for someone else?

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Well, things just got a whole lot easier with our great online guide to children’s literature and authors. Search Who Next…? by genre or theme, by age group or by author to get umpteen suggestions of titles or authors. Parents, teachers and older teenagers will find many more authors and recommended reads in Who Else Writes Like…? They offer the ideal solution of what to read next for both avid and reluctant readers.

And if like me, you still have Christmas shopping to do, Who Next…? could give you the perfect gift idea…

Welcome to Whose Town?

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Follow the Whose Town? blog for regular tips and hints about how you can use Whose Town? to link to topical themes and events. We’ll also be highlighting other Edinburgh City Library services which could be particularly useful for teachers. If you want to be kept fully informed about activities happening across Edinburgh City Libraries it’s well worth checking out our excellent Library blog, Tales of One City.

We’ve been experiencing some frustrating technical hiccups with Whose Town? on Glow lately.  We’re hopeful that Whose Town? will be Glowing brightly again soon. Remember though, you can email informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk to request a free CD of the Whose Town? resource.