Charitable support underpins the National Library's ability to safeguard the nation's published and recorded memory, and to open it up to millions of people for free. You can find out more about the impact a donation can have below.
Your support helps us achieve our goals.
Bring the Bards Home
Find out about our appeal to repatriate some of Scotland's most important literary manuscripts
The importance of philanthropy
The National Library of Scotland was founded on philanthropy — and biscuits.
It was the visionary endowments of Alexander Grant (Chairman of McVitie & Price, and inventor of the original McVitie's Digestive biscuit recipe) which saw the Library established as a national institution in the 1920s. Read a brief history of the Library.
In the intervening years the National Library has grown exponentially in size and relevance, and is today a centre of knowledge and information for all those with an interest or connection to Scotland and its place in the world.
Philanthropy remains as critical to our mission today as it did 100 years ago.
From the acquisition of the prolific John Murray publisher's archive of Lord Byron, Jane Austen, David Livingstone and Walter Scott's papers to the creation of a new centre for Scotland's Moving Image Archive at Kelvin Hall, philanthropy has played a critical role in all that we have been able to achieve.
Help us bring the Library’s collections to life by making a donation. Thank you for your support.