Capital Collections is Edinburgh Libraries' online image library. The project was initiated to provide greater access to some of the 100,000 images within its collections.
The
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
was launched in February 2008 with an accompanying
exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
, entitled “Edinburgh Past and Present”, featuring images chosen by personalities connected with the city.
Some of the celebrities who selected and commented on images from the collection included swimmer
Kirsty Balfour
Kirsty Balfour (born 21 February 1984), also known by her married name Kirsty Kettles, is a Scottish former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games, FINA world championships and European championships, and compete ...
, impressionist
Rory Bremner
Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...
, former
Bishop of Edinburgh
The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.
Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St Andrews, under the Archbishop of St Andrews ...
Richard Holloway
Richard Holloway Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (born 26 November 1933) is a Scottish writer, Television presenter, broadcaster and cleric. He was the Bishop of Edinburgh from 1986 to 2000 and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Ch ...
, and children’s author
Aileen Paterson. Six years later, nearly 35,000 images have been digitised and more than 8000 images are available to view online.
World Heritage Site
The
digitisation
DigitizationTech Target. (2011, April). Definition: digitization. ''WhatIs.com''. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer- ...
project was part-funded by Edinburgh World Heritage Trust,
to allow users access to the rare and unique material relating to the Old and New Towns of the UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. The website gives people all over the globe an educational tool to learn more about their family history and cultural roots.
The photographer involved with the project have the opportunity to take contemporary photographs of the city. The modern images compliment and provide comparisons with the early photographs of Edinburgh, as well as providing a valuable record of the changes occurring in the city.
Collections
The Special Collections within the departments of Central Library contain materials representing
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and
Scotland’s social, cultural and architectural heritage. They contain items of international importance in a variety of media, including paintings, Japanese prints, engravings and drawings. Capital Collections displays a particularly strong collection of early
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
, most notably including work by the founding fathers of modern photography
Hill & Adamson
Hill & Adamson was the first photography studio in Scotland, set up by painter David Octavius Hill and engineer Robert Adamson in 1843. During their brief partnership that ended with Adamson's untimely death, Hill & Adamson produced "the first s ...
as well as lesser known pioneers, Archibald Burns, Thomas Keith and Thomas Begbie. Other artists of note include
Walter Geikie
Walter Geikie RSA (10 November 17951 August 1837) was a Scottish painter.
Life
He was born in Edinburgh on 10 November 1795. At the age of two, he had a "nervous fever" which left him deaf. Through the careful attention of his father he obt ...
,
John Kay,
Alexander Nasmyth
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
and James Skene.
New Developments
Capital Collections is also represented on
Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
giving further digital access to otherwise hard to reach resources. By adopting this alternative approach to digital media, the project is attempting to engage with new online audiences through the principles of
photo sharing
Image sharing, or photo sharing, is the publishing or transfer of digital photos online. Image sharing websites offer services such as uploading, hosting, managing and sharing of photos (publicly or privately). This function is provided through ...
and
user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...
.
References
External links
*{{official, http://www.capitalcollections.org.uk/
Flickr pageEdinburgh World HeritageDiscover the treasures of Central Library
Cultural heritage of Scotland
Library 2.0
Online archives of the United Kingdom