News

Unique collection of books opened to the public at Callicvol, Port of Ness

Stornoway Gazette - Thursday, 6 June 2002

A unique collection of 2,500 books on Scottish, Irish and Nordic subjects which has been built up over the past 50 years by Michael Robson, has been made available to the public.

Many of the books in the collection, which is located on a croft at Callicvol, Port of Ness, are extremely rare and some 1, 800 of them cover aspects of life in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The remainder relates to the Scottish Borders and to general Scottish, Irish and Nordic subjects.

The Callicvol Collection was officially opened on Friday by Western Isles MSP Alasdair Morrison on Friday.

The Islands Book Trust (Urras Leabhraichean Nan Eilean) aims to extend appreciation of the value of the Callicvol Collection for the purposes of historical interest, education and research through an extensive programme of talks, exhibitions and seminars. A particular focus will be on comparative studies of the Western Isles and other parts of the Celtic and Nordic world.

Islands Book Trust chairman is John Randall, the Registrar General for Scotland. Away from his responsibilities for maintaining the current and historical records of Scottish births, deaths and marriages, John is an expert on the antiquarian book scene.

MACLEAN PRESS  

The Book Trust is pleased to announce that it has purchased the Skye-based publishing company Maclean Press, including the stock of several important and attractive books on island themes which complement our own titles. We are offering many of these books, along with some of our own, at greatly reduced prices - for details see Publications - Special Prices   more

2008 EVENTS EXTRAVAGANZA FROM THE ISLANDS BOOK TRUST

This year’s programme of events organised by The Islands Book Trust is more than simply ‘bigger and better than ever before’ – it is a veritable extravaganza of over 20 talks, conferences, and visits to islands which should have something for everyone interested in the history of the Hebrides and further afield

Introducing the programme, Book Trust Chairman John Randall said:

 ‘We have tried to get a good blend of speakers from the islands and from the outside, from local communities and from the academic world. The subjects under discussion range from early Christianity in Ness to the Lewis Chemical Works. We have also aimed to combine old favourites, like visiting the spectacular Shiant Islands, with something new – and this year we hope to reach St Kilda, and the Monachs. We have particularly expanded our programme of events in Uist, and are holding another conference in Skye. Our events are open to everyone, but we would encourage as many people as possible to join the Book Trust – this entitles you to reductions at events, and also brings you a regular newsletter with full details and reports on all our events, publications, and other activities. We are not a learned society, but an inclusive organisation where everyone interested in the history of the islands will find a warm welcome.’

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