The Advocates Library, founded in 1682, is the law library of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

, in Edinburgh. It served as the national

deposit library Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...

of Scotland until 1925, at which time through an Act of Parliament the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in t ...

was created. All the non-legal collections were transferred to the National Library. Today, it alone of the Scottish libraries still holds the privilege of receiving a copy of every law book entered at Stationers' Hall. The library forms part of the complex that includes Parliament House, located on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), de ...

History

The Library was formally opened in 1689. It was an initiative of George Mackenzie. The present library building was designed by

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century, who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks. Life Playfair was born on 15 ...

in 1830, and is a category A listed building. Librarian

Samuel Halkett Samuel Halkett (21 June 1814 – 20 April 1871) was a Scottish librarian, now known for his work on anonymous publications. Life He was born in 1814 in the North Back of the Canongate, Edinburgh, where his father was in business as a brewer. ...

began an ambitious catalogue, based on the rules of

John Winter Jones John Winter Jones (16 June 1805 – 7 September 1881) was an English librarian. He was Principal Librarian of the British Museum between 1866 and 1873. He was the first President of the Library Association in the U.K. Biography Jones was b ...

for the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

catalogue of 1839, but with extensive biographical information on authors. It was published in six volumes, from 1858 to 1878. Halkett's successor, Thomas Hill Jamieson, had to deal with a fire that damaged some thousands of books on 9 March 1875. By 1923 the library held around 725,000 books and pamphlets.

Keepers

*1684–1693 James NasmithCadell & Matheson, pp. 292–6. (NB in place before official opening.) *1693–1702 James Stevenson *1702–1728 John Spottiswoode of that ilk *1703–1718 (joint keeper) Adam Colt or Coult *1705–1719 (joint keeper) William Forbes *1730–1752 Thomas Ruddiman *1735–1766 (assistant keeper)

Walter Goodall Walter Goodall (1706? – 1766) was a Scottish historical writer, born in Banffshire, and educated at King's College, University of Aberdeen. Later he became assistant librarian to the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh. In 1754 Goodall pub ...

*1752–1757

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment ph ...

*1757–1758

Adam Ferguson Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. Ferguson was sympathet ...

*1758–1765 William Wallace *1766–1794 Alexander Brown *1794–1818 Alexander Manners *1820–1848

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include '' The Destruction of Dresden'' (1 ...

*1849–1871

*1871–1876 Thomas Hill Jamieson *1877–1906 James Toshach Clark *1906–1925

William Kirk Dickson William Kirk Dickson (1860 – 14 July 1949) was a Scottish advocate, librarian and writer. He was Keeper of the Advocates' Library from 1906 to 1925, and Librarian of the National Library of Scotland from 1925 to 1931. Life He was born in Edinb ...

*1925-1928 James Stevenson LeadbetterSt Clair and Craik p76 *1928-1948 Robert Candlish Henderson *1948-1949 Henry Wallace Guthrie *1949-1956 Thomas Pringle McDonald *1956-1970 Margaret Henderson Kidd *1970-1972 Alexander John Mackenzie Stuart *1972-1977 Charles Kemp Davidson *1977-1987 John Taylor Cameron *1987–1994 Brian Gill *1994-2002 Angus Stewart *2002-2004 Edgar Prais *2004-2008 Stephen Woolman *2008-2021 Mungo Bovey QC *2021 Stephen O'Rourke QC *2022- present Neil Mackenzie KC

References

*Patrick Cadell and Ann Matheson, editors (1989). ''For the Encouragement of Learning: Scotland's National Library 1689–1989''. Edinburgh: HMSO. *John St Clair and Roger Craik (1989). ''The Advocates' Library: 300 Years of a National Institution 1689-1989''. Edinburgh HMSO.

Notes

External links

* {{Culture and leisure facilities in Edinburgh 1682 establishments in Scotland Libraries in Edinburgh Scots law Law libraries in the United Kingdom College of Justice Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed library buildings in Scotland Royal Mile Academic libraries in Scotland Deposit libraries

History

Keepers

See also

References

Notes

External links