Three substantial bequests, together with books received through legal deposit, have made the National Library an important centre for the study of mountains, mountaineering, and the polar regions.
In addition to the bequests — the Graham Brown collection, the Lloyd collection and the Wordie collection — the trust fund endowed by Professor Graham Brown has enabled active acquisition of these subjects.
Subjects collected
While climbing in all its aspects remains the central focus of the mountaineering collections, works on such subjects as ecology, geology, hillwalking and the place of mountains in art and literature are also purchased.
The Alps, especially Mont Blanc, and the Himalaya receive the fullest coverage, but our goal is to have representation in the collections on every significant mountain or range of mountains. Discovery and exploration of the Arctic and Antarctica remain the focus of the polar collections, but reports of scientific expeditions and other research materials are acquired too. Among the subjects which feature in these collections are international relations in the polar regions, glaciology and polar whaling.
Selected ephemera
Selected films
Other gifts and deposits
The significance of the Library's existing collections in the mountaineering and polar fields has attracted a number of further gifts and deposits, such as the Baume collection, the Humble collection and the Bullock Workman collection (PDF) (58 KB; 6 pages).
Details of the majority of book and journal titles relating to mountains, mountaineering and the polar regions can be found using our main catalogue.
Contact us
For information on these collections, or to contact the Curator for Mountaineering and Polar collections, please ask a question online. You can also phone or write to us at:
Mountaineering and Polar Collections
National Library of Scotland
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh
EH1 1EW
Tel: +44 (0) 131 623 4660
For information on the relevant manuscript collections email Manuscript and Archives Collections.
Additional
Enduring Eye
Photographs and Library collection items tell the story of the 1914-1917 Endurance expedition to the Antarctic.