Our story

English

Bringing people and poems together is at the heart of everything we do – our mission. With this in mind, we’ll strive for our visitors, borrowers and service users to experience the SPL as a welcoming and compassionate organisation, aiming to transform people’s lives through exciting experiences and creative engagement with poetry – the ‘spark o’ Nature’s fire’ as Robert Burns wrote.

As a membership organisation, we encourage younger people and students to join and connect with us and with poetry for the rest of their lives. We also seek to reach out to communities that are traditionally underrepresented in our audiences, often the result of real and perceived barriers connected to limitations of low income, physical ability, low literacy and sense of belonging.

John Burnside wrote that ‘the more imaginative we are, the more compassionate we become’. By supporting the poetry community, creative learning programmes in schools and community settings, and offering increased access to poetry in live literature events and high-quality online resources, we support imagination. And in supporting imagination, we aim to demonstrate the compassion in poetry and affirm that, as writer and former SPL Board member Jenni Fagan puts it, ‘Poetry belongs in every community’.

Read our SPL Business Plan 2022 2025.

Gaelic

An lèirsinn, am misean, agus na luachan againn

Tha sinn airson ceangal a chruthachadh eadar daoine agus dàin. ’S e sin am misean againn. Mar sin, bidh sinn a’ strì airson is gum bi deagh àm aig luchd-tadhail, luchd-iasaid, agus luchd-cleachdaidh an leabharlainn, agus gum faic iad leabharlann a tha aoigheil agus co-fhaireachdail, a tha a’ feuchainn ri beathannan dhaoine atharrachadh tro bhàrdachd — an ‘lasair teine Nàdair’, mar a sgrìobh Raibeart Burns.

Mar bhuidheann a ghabhas ballrachd, bidh sinn a’ brosnachadh daoine òga agus oileanaich tighinn air bòrd agus a dhol an sàs le bàrdachd airson a’ chòrr dhem beatha. Bidh sinn cuideachd a’ feuchainn ri ceanglaichean a thogail le coimhearsnachdan nach eil air an deagh riochdachadh ann an luchd-leantainn na bàrdachd, tric air sgàth ’s

bacadh air choreigin. ’S urrainn dhan bhacadh seo a bhith mar thoradh air bacaidhean fìor no beachdaichte, nam measg cion airgid, cion comas leughaidh, feumalachdan eadar-dhealaichte, no a bhith a’ faireachdainn nach buin bàrdachd dhaibh.

Sgrìobh John Burnside gur ann nas truasaile a thathar a’ fàs nuair a gheibh mac-meanma a dheagh chleachdadh. Bidh sinn a’ cumail taic ri mac-meanma le bhith a’ cumail taic ri coimhearsnachd na bàrdachd; le taic a chumail ri pròiseactan ionnsachaidh ann an sgoiltean agus coimhearsnachd; agus le barrachd chothroman a thabhann do dhaoine bàrdachd a lorg tro thachartasan agus tro ghoireasan air-loidhne. Le brosnachadh mic-mheanma, tha sinn an dòchas an co-fhaireachdainn a tha na phàirt de bhàrdachd a thaisbeanadh, agus tha sinn cuideachd an dòchas dearbhadh, mar a sgrìobh an sgrìobhadair Jenni Fagan a bha na ball de Bhòrd Leabharlann Bàrdachd na h-Alba, ‘Tha bàrdachd a’ buntainn ri gach coimhearsnachd.’

’S urrainn dhuibh an SPL Business Plan 2022 2025 againn a leughadh.

English

The Scottish Poetry Library was dreamed into existence by the founding director Tessa Ransford. A poet herself, Tessa was aware that few public libraries could afford to cover more than the obvious giants of 20th century poetry, and that publishers had little financial incentive to publish or promote it. A poetry library could be the missing centre; it could be both a resource of written works and a channel for the enthusiasm to read and write poetry; a place to house the written and encourage the spoken form. Gathering hard-working enthusiasts around her, she managed to get funding for that modest start: some rooms off the Royal Mile in the Old Town of Edinburgh, 300 books – mostly donated – and a part-time staff of two.

In 1999, the Scottish Poetry Library moved into custom-built premises further down the Mile, an award-winning building designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects and chiefly funded by a Capital Lottery grant. The stock had grown to about 30,000 items, and there were six members of staff.  The elements remained constant: free access to lending and reference collections, a national core but an international outlook, and the pleasures of poetry shared in schools and through an events programme.

Click here to find our more about our building.

You can also read a ‘History of the SPL booklet‘ which was published to celebrate the first 25 years of the SPL.

If you know somebody who would prefer a large print or braille version, please contact us at reception@spl.org.uk or call 0131 557 2876.

Gaelic

Ar n-eachdraidh

Stèidhich Tessa Ranford Leabharlann Bàrdachd na h-Alba, agus b’ ise a’ chiad stiùiriche aig an Leabharlann cuideachd. B’ e bàrd a bh’ ann an Tessa fhèin, agus mar sin bha i gu math mothachail air nach robh airgead gu leòr aig a’ mhòr-chuid de leabharlannan poblach bàrdachd fhaighinn, ach a-mhàin bàrdachd ainmeil an 20mh linn. Bha i mothachail cuideachd nach robh mòran ann airson foillsichearan a bhrosnachadh gu bàrdachd fhoillseachadh. Bha cothrom ann ma-thà airson leabharlann bàrdachd — b’ urrainn dha a bhith na gjoireas airson rudan sgrìobhte agus na meadhan brosnachaidh dhaibhsan aig an robh ùidh ann am bàrdachd; b’ urrainn dha a bhith na àite airson bàrdachd sgrìobhte a bhith air a tasgadh agus airson taic a chumail ri bàrdachd labhairteach. Chruinnich Ransford buidheann de dhaoine/làn dhaoine a bha misneachail mu bhàrdachd, agus shoirbhich leatha beagan maoineachaidh fhaighinn airson toiseach tòiseachaidh a dhèanamh: fhuair iad seòmraichean faisg air a’ Mhìle Rìoghail an Dùn Èideann, 300 leabhar (a’ mhòr-chuid air tabhartas) agus dithis nan luchd-obrach pàirt-ùine.

Ann an 1999, chaidh Leabharlann Bàrdachd na h-Alba a ghluasad gu togalach sònraichte dha fhèin nas fhaide shìos a’ Mhìle Rìoghail, togalach a choisinn duaisean agus a chaidh a dheilbh le Malcolm Fraser Architects. Thàinig a’ mhòr-chuid den taic maoineachaidh bho thabhartas a’ Chrannchuir Chalpa. Bha tasgadh an Leabharlainn air fàs gu mu 30,000 goireas, agus bha sianar ag obair ann. Bha rudan seasmhach mun Leabharlann: cha robh cosgais an lùib iasaid no cruinneachaidhean fiosrachaidh; bha bunait nàiseanta aige ach lèirsinn eadar-nàiseanta; agus bha tlachd ann am bàrdachd fhathast ga sgaoileadh ann an sgoiltean agus tro thachartasan.

’S urrainn dhuibh barrachd a leughadh mun chiad 25 bliadhna den Leabharlann far a bheil e air a chomharrachadh nar n-eachdraidh bliadhnail.

Mas aithne dhuibh neach a bhiodh ag iarraidh dreach braille, Cuiribh fios gu reception@spl.org.uk no fòn gu 0131 557 2876.