Andy Holden is an award-winning artist. His father, Peter, is an ornitholgist and author who after a forty year career at the RSPB was awarded an MBE for services to conservation.

Borders based comic book artist and writer, Chris Kent, will pay a visit to Kirkliston Library on 12th December.  The session will provide a great insight into the world of graphic novels and an opportunity to pick up tips on creating comic book art.

Our Green Pencil Award, for creative writing with an environmental slant, is now in its fifth year. This year’s competition, on the theme of “Birds and beasties”, attracted over 1000 entries from Edinburgh’s keenest and greenest young wordsmiths.

Last Saturday we welcomed hundreds of visitors to our Local and Family History Open Day. They took part in a packed programme of taster sessions, talks and exhibitions, organized as part of the Previously…Scotland’s History Festival.

It’s on! In association with Blackwell’s Bookshop we’re looking for the smartest book group in town. Could it be yours? And even if it’s not, we guarantee fun fun fun finding out.

Register your team of five bookish quizzers and maybe you’ll be the ones to take the title from reigning champs Portobello Book Group.

Probably best known for the popular ‘Scream Street‘ series of children’s books, writer Tommy Donbavand has also penned titles including “My teacher ate my brain” and “Terror in cubicle four”, as well as writing for CBBC’s “Planet Cooks”.
No stranger to the performing arts, panto veteran Tommy knows how to put on a show, so we’re really looking forward to his forthcoming visit to Oxgangs Library.

A haunting tale of good versus evil, Robin Jenkins’ ‘The Cone Gatherers‘ has been described by Andrew Marr as the ‘best kept secret in modern British literature’. Well, maybe not such a secret, if the waiting list for our copies is anything to go by.

A guest post by Harry Giles
There’s a lot of reasons I love open mic. I love the curious audiences, the way you’re always free to try something new out, the relaxed atmosphere and lack of pressure, the audiences who’re always half writers as well, so pretty supportive and friendly. But most of all I love open mics – and spend a lot of time organising and hosting them – because I love the fantastic range of people and poems you find at them.

There are many ways libraries touch lives. One example is Library Link.
Launched in Muirhouse Library in 1992, Library Link provides transport to and from the library for users who, due to physical constraints, would be otherwise unable to visit.
In the library customers choose their books and other materials then join other Link members for a cup of tea and a chat.
Over the past twenty years the service has gone from strength to strength and now covers libraries across the city.

Edinburgh’s Olympic heroes haven’t been the only ones celebrating recently, as our latest photo gallery shows that library users of all ages have had reasons to be cheerful too.