A few weekends ago during a visit to Stirling, Scotland we went a few miles north to visit Innerpeffray, a little hamlet in Crieff that houses the oldest lending library in the country. In 1680, around 400 books from the lavish library of David Drummond, 3rd Lord Madertie were made available to the public, the oldest book being a 1502 imprint The Mirror of Final Retribution: For Good Works and Evil Ones by Petrus Reginaldetus, and other highlights of the collection including a 1613 King James Bible, a hand-coloured Mercator atlas, and extensive holdings on Scottish history and Law. When Drummond died in 1692, his bequest was formalized and funded by his will. Originally the books were stored flat in the old Innerpeffray Chapel (click here for some amazing photographs – the chapel dates to 1365), but in 1762/3 the books were moved next door to a house specifically built for the purpose by Robert Hay Drummond, Archbishop of York. The 5,000 book collection has remained there until this day, and in the library’s long history books have only been out of circulation since 1968.
In the chapel, books were originally stored flat with paper tabs for easy identification.
The library’s foundation marks a crucial distinction in Scotland’s education and literacy compared to its British neighbors: as the library’s brochure points out, “By 1750 almost every Scottish town of any size had a lending library. They served a society in which 75 per cent of adults could read and write – compared to only 53 percent in England.” When the library was first founded, it was accompanied by a school (which only closed in 1947), and the earliest Rules & Regulations for the library reflect the dedication to local children and their education:
