Discover Issue 54, Summer 2026
Excerpt from 'Let it rain! We’re causing a splash', page 3:
Welcome to the latest issue of ‘Discover’, where it’s all about the weather. At the time of writing, we’re
gearing up to launch our new major exhibition, ‘Rain’. In Scotland our relationship with rain is both practical and deeply woven into our culture and landscape. Our languages reflect how much we talk about it – be it as a smirr, smugraich uisge or dingin doon!
In the national collections we have perhaps millions of mentions of rain in poetry, film, official government documents, private letters and popular music. From 18th-century theories on cloud formation to the ways in which too much or too little rain can be frustrating, or even life-changing. From rain-soaked love stories to rain-resistant fashion choices, there will be much to enjoy – singin’ in the ‘Rain’ exhibition is encouraged when it opens on 19 June!
The weather, and its forecasts, is a universal topic and we feature two of Scotland’s most high-profile
meteorologists in this magazine. Our cover story is with STV’s Sean Batty, who from the age of seven knew he wanted to be a weatherman (pages 14–17).
His heroes were not the stuff of Marvel comics but some of the household names on TV from his childhood and teenage years, including Heather Reid OBE (pages 16–17). Today, Reid is known for her work as a physicist and science educator. She is particularly fond of the type of weather often cited as ‘inclement’ and has much to say about the shifts in weather patterns in recent years.
Our centenary programme is coming to an end but the third part of our OUTWITH programme is under way in the northernmost part of the country. Following special loans of collection items and a host of public events in Aberdeen and Perth, we developed the ‘Outwith: Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay’ with Shetland Museum and Archives in Lerwick. The exhibition includes Christopher Grieve/Hugh MacDiarmid’s original manuscripts of the poems ‘Shags’ Nests’ and ‘In Dury Voe’, which were written in Whalsay, and personal letters sent between Christopher and Valda in this period.
Community memory lives on strong, with many residents still knowledgeable about Valda and Christopher Grieve’s time on the island. Working with our colleagues across Shetland Libraries, Shetland Museum and Archives and Whalsay Heritage and Community Centre has been a joy. Library curator Colin McIlroy does a deep dive into our MacDiarmid-related archives on pages 25–29.
There is much more to enjoy in this magazine, ranging from a compelling piece about Penguin Books founder Allen Lane and his relationship with Agatha Christie by regular contributor, Curator Ian Scott (pages 22–23), and an article about library rules and how they form the centrepiece of an artwork by Peter Liversidge which we commissioned for our centenary – you can now view the work in the general reading room (pages 18–19).
We’re marking another anniversary this year – and that is 50 years of the nation’s film archive, which came into the national collections and joined the Library in 2007.
To mark this milestone, we’re making this collection – based at our Glasgow premises at Kelvin Hall – the focus of our annual appeal.
The national film collections hold many unique items that are in need of preservation, so if you have a bit to spare, do consider us – we’ll make your donation count.
As ever, thank you to everyone who supports the Library in every way – whether as a donor, an event attendee or a regular in our reading rooms. Together, we thrive. Have a great summer.Alison Stevenson
Director of Collections, Access and Research