Category Archives: Uncategorized

Our 1950s tram driver

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With the imminent arrival of trams on Edinburgh’s streets, now’s the perfect time to rediscover our 1950s tram driver’s Life in a box in Whose Town?

Hugh Cairns started as a conductor and then became a driver on Edinburgh’s former electric tram car system. Hear him tell stories about what life was like working on the trams, see personal pictures of him and his colleagues and also special tickets produced to commemorate the last week of the previous tram system in November 1956.

You’ll also discover more about his life living in a prefab in Oxgangs and how he preferred to get out and about on his bicycle in his free time.

Getting around Edinburgh through history

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Not so very long ago, our ancestors had to rely on their own two feet or horse-power to travel. A succession of developments in transport benefited not only trade and industry, but also gave people the means to escape the city to the seaside, countryside or suburbia.

Our latest story on Our Town Stories, Edinburgh by road, rail and waterway, is your historical passport to getting around town.

Children and teens’ eReading Room

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Now if children and teens are visiting Overdrive, our free ebook download service, they’ll find an area specially designed for them – http://yourlibrary.edinburgh.gov.uk/overdrivekids . Overdrive Kids and Teens is accessed from Your Library or there’s a prominent link at the foot of the main Overdrive site.

Once in Overdrive Kids and Teens, it’s easy to jump back to the full main catalogue via the ‘Main Collection’ home button at the top left of the page.

Remember to tell us about any suggestions for books that you’d like to see on the Overdrive Kids and Teens site. Email informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk and we’ll look into them for you.

Issues Online via Your Library

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Issues online is an invaluable tool for secondary students and it’s now available from Your Library!

The resource gives access to hundreds of high-quality articles on social issues such as drugs, war, poverty, mental health and the environment.

It is suitable for ages 14 and above and is brilliant for English, social studies, religious and moral philosophy investigations.

The Usher Hall’s centenary

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A new Capital Collections exhibition gives a detailed insight into the history of the Usher Hall.

From 1896, when Andrew Usher donated £100, 000 to the city for the building of a new music hall, various sites and designs were considered. Sadly, Usher died in 1898 never to see his generosity and vision realised. However, a location on Lothian Road was finally chosen, in spite of it being occupied by Lothian Road School at the time (!) and the  iconic design was chosen by competition. Our exhibition includes the original architect’s drawing as well as a page from one of the Usher Hall’s plasterer’s notebook.

The music hall opened its doors for its very first concert on 6th March 1914.  Our exhibition contains a selection of programmes and leaflets to give an indication of the range of performances that have taken place at the Usher Hall and also how the design of promotional material has evolved over the years.

Visit Capital Collections and discover the history of Edinburgh’s magnificent concert venue.

Britannica’s spotlight on Chinese New Year

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Britannica frequently throws the ‘spotlight’ on calendar events or topics. It produces mini-sites which are designed for use by teachers, librarians and parents of primary school children. They give access to Britannica articles as well as colour-ins and puzzles in the ‘activity centre’ so that children can have fun as they learn.
Explore the latest spotlight on Chinese New Year or browse the archive listings by curriculum topic or diary dates.
Edinburgh Libraries’ readers can access Britannica Junior, Britannica Student and Britannica for free from Your Library.

Britannica Study Guides

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Britannica have launched a new study guide feature!

They’ve put together a collection of activities to help students with some valuable essay-writing skills. The ‘Activity Centre’ gives several helpful hints on how to write a thesis statement and create an outline for an essay.

For this first edition, all of the activities are based on “mythology” and use the information within the Britannica article to show how to use research and information. There’s also some fun activities too like a crossword puzzle, word search and quiz.

Britannica are keen to get feedback, and also hear suggestions for future study guides topics. So it’s well worth signing up to receive newsletters and passing on your views.

Britannica Junior, Britannica Student and Britannica original editions are all available to Edinburgh Library members free of charge from Your Library.

Your new Your Library

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We’ve just launched a brand new version of Your Library, Edinburgh Libraries’ gateway site to all our online resources and services. Your Library features links to more than fifty sites and apps, making it easier than ever for library members to find information, learn new skills and pursue their interests.
We’ve created a separate look and feel for children’s and teenage content and even a dedicated area for teachers which gives immediate access to hints and tips and lesson plans on how to use the different learning resources.
The site has been redesigned to give users a less cluttered more intuitive interface. Use  the drop-down menus and filter buttons to easily find the resources that best suit your needs and interests. There are embedded videos to give short, informative introductions to resources such as Scran and Whose Town?
So explore the site for yourself and if you have any comments, suggestions or questions about it we’d love to hear from you. And if you like what you see, click to share our fantastic free resources with colleagues!

New stories on Our Town Stories

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We’ve recently added a plethera of new stories to Our Town Stories.

  • Get a taste of what educational life was like for the poorest children with a history of Edinburgh’s Orphan Hospitals and Schools
  • The story of Walter Geikie, artist and printmaker uses his lively sketches to describe the people, places and daily activities of Edinburgh in the early 1800s
  • The paintings of James Skene, antiquarian and close friend of Sir Walter Scott give another view of Edinburgh at the beginning of the 19th century
  • Edinburgh & the Slave Trade traces Edinburgh’s links with the transatlantic Slave Trade and the people and places associated with this hidden history
  • And a companion story, The Anti-slavery movement in Edinburgh looks at the movement against slavery in Edinburgh.

Keep an eye on Our Town Stories for more stories appearing all the time!

Teachers’ resources on Whose Town?

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Have you discovered the teachers’ area on Whose Town? Within the ‘Resource Bank’ feature there is a section called ‘Teaching ideas’. Here you’ll find lots of materials to help you get the most out of the Whose Town? resource.

These teaching materials were written by teachers and educational specialists and all documents are linked to the Curriculum for Excellence. There’s suggested lesson plans for interdisciplinary learning as well as a really useful ‘Suggested Topics’ document which gives you ideas about how to explore the themes raised by the archival material found within each Life in a Box in Whose Town?

There’s also some really handy guides on how to approach photographs, audio and multi-modal documents within the classroom with great suggestions for how to stimulate discussions and lead on to project work.

Or with International Literacy Day looming, why not follow our guidelines for creating your own Life in a Box and get your class to tell their own stories through images, objects and documents.