The Grindlay Bequest: Acquisitions and Childhood Reading Practices at the Royal High School, Edinburgh 1770-1830

Citation

Branagh-Miscampbell M (2024) The Grindlay Bequest: Acquisitions and Childhood Reading Practices at the Royal High School, Edinburgh 1770-1830. Library and Information History.

Abstract
Dating from 1770 until 1960, the surviving borrowing records of the Royal High School of Edinburgh provide a unique insight into children's reading habits at a time when evidence of such reading experiences are scant. When analysed alongside library catalogues, acquisition records, and evidence of the school curriculum, these reveal the way that a school library was used by children throughout its history. Honing in on a particular point in the library's history, taking as its focal point the sizeable bequest of books by merchant, and former pupil, George Grindlay in 1801, this article argues that the unedited inclusion of books from a home library influenced, and coincided with, a decisive shift in the use of the school library towards more recreational, practical, and individualised reading experiences at a time when the school curriculum was also broadening and modernising to meet changing educational expectations in an increasingly industrialised and cosmopolitan society.