| Glasgow Digital Library | COLLECTIONS | PEOPLE | PLACES | SUBJECTS | DOCUMENTS |
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The Glasgow Digital Library holds several collections of digitised materials and provides organised access to others. A summary of the main collections is given here.
This is a digital archive of the ephemera - leaflets, flyers, postcards, newsletters - produced by candidates and political parties for the first Scottish parliamentary election in May 1999. The archive is based on the collection of election ephemera held by the Andersonian Library at the University of Strathclyde, which is acknowledged to be an important and unique record of a key event in Scottish history. The digital archive significantly improves the accessibility and usability of the paper collection whilst conserving the original materials. As well as digital reproductions of the original materials, Aspect includes transcriptions of the text of many of the leaflets and supplementary information on electoral constituencies and regions, political parties, the electoral process and the results of the election.
During the period between 1910 and 1922 the city of Glasgow was witness to an unparalleled wave of working class protest and political agitation which challenged the forces of capitalism and even the state itself. The events and people who shaped this period forged an enduring legacy which still remains part of the political and social fabric of the city to the present day, and which is known as Red Clydeside. This turbulent period of industrial, social and political upheaval reinforced Glasgow's reputation as the centre of working class struggle in Britain in early years of the twentieth century. The Red Clydeside collection provides access to digital copies of original source materials from the Red Clydeside period, presented in several ways:
This collection comprises a selection of letters, election materials, photographs and other items reflecting the life and political career of James Maxton (1885-1946), who was a leading figure of the Red Clydeside period and went on to become one of the most charismatic and well-loved political figures of his generation. Maxton was elected MP for Bridgeton in 1922 and devoted much of his political life to alleviating poverty within the city of Glasgow, as well as being a dedicated anti-war campaigner.
On 30 March 2001, Springburn Community Museum closed its doors for the last time, unable to secure sufficient funding to pay for staff costs, essential building repairs and the upkeep of the collection. The physical museum collection, built up over many years and numbering over 15,000 items, has been split up and will be housed in several different collections across the city of Glasgow. The Glasgow Digital Library was able to secure a small amount of funding to digitise a representative selection of materials from the Springburn Community Museum and thereby lay the foundations for Springburn Virtual Museum. Images for the collection have been chosen to convey important elements of the social and economic history of Springburn. Particular emphasis has been placed upon the railway industry and community and tenement life in Springburn.
This is an online exhibition marking the centenary of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition which took place between 1902 and 1904. It includes photographs, artefacts, maps and documents from the collections of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, including an illustrated account of the life and work of Dr William Bruce, and his scientific expedition to the Antarctic on board the Scotia in 1902-04. There is also a substantial educational resource, called Scotland and the Antarctic, which provides additional background information and about polar exploration, as well as more detail about the Scotia expedition and those who took part in it.
This project involves the digitisation of the whole of the book entitled:
Memoirs and portraits of 100 Glasgow men who have died during the last thirty years, and in their lives did much to make the city what it now is
by James Maclehose. This book was published in two volumes in 1886 as a limited edition of 400 copies. Digitisation and transcription of all 524 pages has been carried out, so that the text of the book is available in searchable form rather than as images. All 100 portraits are also included, and the entire publication is available as an electronic book, with a detailed index, in accordance with the many of the guidelines established by the EBONI project (Electronic Books On-Screen Interface).
The first six volumes (36 issues) of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal have been digitised at the Centre for Digital Library Research, thanks to a grant of £3000 from the Scottish Mountaineering Trust. All 36 issues are now freely available online, for personal or educational use. The early issues document an exciting period in exploration of the Scottish highlands, and issue 6 of volume 1 contains the first publication of the tables that later became known as the Munros (Scottish mountains over 3000 feet high).
The Victorian Times project aims to research, consolidate, digitise and provide access to original material relating to social, political, and economic conditions, events, people and actions from the Victorian era. It brings together materials from a variety of sources in London, Glasgow and elsewhere in the UK, but particularly from the collections held by Stationery Office Ltd and the London School of Economics. Built around this content will be notes, texts and bibliographies written by an expert on the subject matter.
| Glasgow Digital Library | COLLECTIONS | PEOPLE | PLACES | SUBJECTS | DOCUMENTS |
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