The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is SUNCAT’s newest Contributing Library. We invited Becky Howell, the Librarian at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, to say a few words.

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The library at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery is one of the three libraries held across the National Galleries of Scotland. The library holdings, including our journal collections, cover a large range of topics, including portraiture, art history, Scottish history and biography, and photography. Our collection is used primarily by our curatorial staff, but we also welcome visitors to use our resources in our reading room. We are open to anyone wanting to do research at any level, and have archive material and a large collection of prints, drawings and photographs that can also be consulted.

The library is a Victorian balcony library, and was moved during the Portrait Gallery’s renovations during 2008-2011. It was previously located on the opposite side of the building, but the library in its entirety, including the shelves and cupboards, was dismantled and then rebuilt in its current location. The reading room is located within the library, but there is also a public area where visitors can look at some of our object collection while enjoying the space.