The Advocates Library, founded in 1682, is the law library of the Faculty of Advocates, in Edinburgh. Until 1925 it was the national deposit library of Scotland, after which the role was taken on by the National Library of Scotland.
It went into decline after head librarian Samuel Halkett's death in June 1871. He was a member of the Early English Text Society and a friend to many compilers of the Oxford English Dictionary, notably Frederick Furnivall. His successor, Thomas Hill Jamieson, met a fire that destroyed much of the collections in the summer of 1875, and the exertions to which he pushed himself to rebuild the library killed him in 1876.
All the non-legal collections were gifted to the National Library. Today, it alone of the Scottish libraries still holds the privilege of receiving a copy of every law book entered at Stationers' Hall.
The library forms part of the complex that includes Parliament House, located on the Royal Mile. The present library building was designed by William Henry Playfair in 1830, and is a category A listed building.
Famous quotes containing the word library:
“... the subjective viewpoint is the only one to use regarding a library. Your true library is a collection of the books you want. You may have deplorably poor taste or bad judgment. Never mind. Correct those traits before you exchange your books.”
—Carolyn Wells (1862–1942)