Book Week Scotland 2024: Beacons of Hope library photo competition

Above: Elder Park Library, Glasgow by Martin Shields

In 2024, the theme for Book Week Scotland is Hope. That’s why we want to shine a light on libraries who are themselves beacons of hope to communities up and down the country.

To do so, we are running a photo competition that invites members of the public to send us pictures of their local library via our website or to post them on social media tagging #BeaconsofHope.

The winning photo will earn its snapper a pile of books, and another pile for their local library!

We’ll be showcasing our favourite #BeaconsofHope pictures on our social media channels and website throughout Book Week Scotland (18–24 November), the country’s big book party.

You can either post your photos on social media using #BeaconsofHope or email them directly to [email protected](this link will open in a new window) with the subject line ‘Beacons of Hope Competition’.

You can use any platform (X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) if submitting via social media. Don’t forget to use #BeaconsofHope and #BookWeekScotland.

Deadline to enter: Midnight on Sunday 24 November.

Scottish Book Trust will contact the winner by Friday 13 December.

The winner will be able to select the local library they’d like the books to be donated to.

Beacons of Hope gallery

Elder Park Library

This historic library in Govan only recently reopened in 2022 after a £4m restoration in a bid to mark it more accessible and sustainable. The library was originally gifted to Govan by Isabella Elder in the early 1900s and first opened by Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1903. The beautiful building is protected by Historic Environment Scotland, due to its architectural and historic interest, and run by Glasgow Life providing a community hub with free access to books, digital resources, information, and support. (Photographer: Martin Shields)

The Dick Institute

The Dick Institute houses East Ayrshire’s central library, a beautiful space that houses a vast range of resources, including regular Bookbug sessions, meet the author events, and adult and children’s book groups. The Dick Institute also has the largest museum and gallery in Aryshire, attracting over 120,000 visitors every year. Opened in 1901, the Dick Institute is often considered one of the most impressive cultural centres in southwest Scotland. (Photographer: Martin Shields)

Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries

This award-winning new museum and art gallery in the heart of Dunfermline opened in 2017. It forms strong links with the world’s first Carnegie Museum and contains local history reading room, a children’s library, and a café with views over the landscaped garden to Dunfermline Abbey and the Heritage Quarter. (Photographer: Colin Hattersley)

The Watt Institution

Located in the west end of Greenock, the Watt Institution boasts not only the Watt Library, but also the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Inverclyde Archives, and the Watt Hall. The beautiful Watt library opened its doors in 1827, becoming an important resource on the history of Inverclyde, including books, leaflets, maps, and local newspapers. (Photographer: Martin Shields)

Craigmillar Library

The current bright and airy library at Craigmillar sits near Craigmillar Castle. The castle dates back to the 14th century but the library only opened in 2012. Outside the library you will find a statue in memory of Dr Helen Crummy MBE, a local legend who had a great influence on the area. (Photographer: Colin Hattersley)

The National Library of Scotland building on George IV Bridge

Housing one of Scotland’s National Collections, the National Library of Scotland building on Edinburgh’s George IV Bridge is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. There are over 24 million items held in the Reginald Fairlie-designed building, whose construction began in 1938 before eventually opening in 1956. (Photographer: Colin Hattersley)

Stirling Mobile Library

Stirling’s vital mobile library service is available to anyone with a library card in the area. It serves the residents of 42 villages and towns in the Stirling Council area. (Photographer: Colin Hattersley)

Innerpeffray Library

This is the storied site of Scotland’s first free public lending library, founded in 1680. The original library served the local community until 1968, however, according to the library’s website, you can still, “read the rare books in its diverse collection and trace the families who took the time to cross the fields in pursuit of knowledge, education or just fun.” (Photographer: Colin Hattersley)

Sir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen University

The main academic library for the University of Aberdeen was designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects and completed in 2011. Named after a previous university principal, the building is seven stories high, houses 1,200 reading spaces, and has enough shelving space to house 400,000 books. (Photo courtesy of University of Aberdeen)

Aberdeen Central Library

The headquarters for library services in Aberdeen City, Aberdeen’s Central Library sits on the Rosemount Viaduct near the centre of the city. It was originally opened in 1982 by Andrew Carnegie and forms a trio of civic buildings, including St Mark’s Church and His Majesty’s Theatre, known as ‘Education, Salvation and Damnation’. (Photo courtesy of Aberdeen City Council)

Orkney Library

Even if you haven’t visited Orkney Library & Archive, you have no doubt seen one of their famous social media posts. It is the place to go on Orkney should you wish to research your family history or deepen your knowledge of the islands’ culture and history – the Orkney Room itself houses an enormous collection of published works relating to Orkney and 60,000 images of island life. (Photo courtesy of Visit Orkney)

Orkney Mobile Library aka Booky McBookface

Serving Orkney is the famous Booky McBookface, Orkney’s mobile library service. (Photo courtesy of Visit Orkney)