The National Library of Scotland has warned that around 65% of its “fragile” newspaper collection could be lost without urgent action, as it launched a fundraising campaign.
Crime writer and former journalist Val McDermid is among those backing the drive at the library in Edinburgh, saying that without a newspaper archive “we are poorer as a nation”.
The library has been collecting newspapers since 1925 but its collections date to the earliest newspaper printed in Scotland in 1641.
However newspapers are not designed to be kept long and are printed on cheap, fragile paper that degrades quickly, meaning much of the library’s collection of 961 titles has suffered significant deterioration.
It has now launched a Save Our Stories appeal which hopes to raise at least £50,000 to enable conservators to carry out urgent repairs to the most damaged newspapers and prepare them to be digitised.
McDermid revealed an archive plays a key role in her next Karen Pirie book.
She said: “The seventh Karen Pirie novel starts with an eagle-eyed librarian spotting something very odd in an archive bequeathed by a recently deceased author. It leads to a major cold case investigation.
“But it’s not just writers of fiction for whom the newspaper archive is a vital resource.
“Historians, cultural commentators, investigative journalists – they all rely on this valuable resource to paint a picture of our past as it was experienced by the people who lived it. Without it we are poorer as a nation.”
Titles in the collection range from the Press and Journal and The Courier to the Highland News, Orkney Times, Buchan Observer and Ayrshire Post, and it includes “rare gems” such as the first copy of The Scotsman, dated January 25, 1817.
The earliest newspaper printed in Scotland, The Heads Of Severall Proceedings In The present Parliament, which reprinted news from London, is also in the collection.
Many of the older papers were already in poor condition when they came to the library, and while the institution’s climate and PH-controlled storage can slow their degradation, it cannot stop it outright.
Analysis by the library has found that without urgent intervention, 65% of its newspapers – and the unique stories they contain – will be lost forever.
Conservator Claire Hutchison, who is working with the most at-risk papers, said: “Our history is in our newspapers and they are the most requested items in our collections.
“But our newspaper collections are incredibly fragile and very brittle. We’re fighting a losing battle to carry out preservation work. There are limits to what we can achieve, but I can repair tears and treat paper so it can be digitised.
“We’re also working with local libraries to carry out conservation work on their collections. These papers have local histories that aren’t recorded anywhere else. This is such important work.”
Anyone who wants to donate to the campaign can do so by visiting https://www.nls.uk/support-nls/newspapers/.
Guns N' Roses are not happy that the store has made consumers "believe it is associated" with the band.
See the best images of the day from around the world
A number of key models helped to make it a bumper month for sales
’Really listen to what is coming out of this guy’s mouth,’ comedian said in 2017
<strong>The Man Who Pays His Way:</strong> MPs lined up to give rail firms a kicking
Conservative party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi, has said that ‘inflation busting pay’ would in fact imbed inflation. Mr Zahawi added that if the 19% pay increase was given to nurses, it would add £10bn to the NHS bill. .
The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday published another footage which it said shows "mobilised citizens who completed retraining courses in the Stavropol region departing for combat coordination."
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) -England pulled off a stunning 74-run victory over Pakistan in the first test on Monday, claiming the final wicket in rapidly fading light to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The visitors amassed 657 in their first innings and declared their second on 264-7, setting Pakistan an improbable victory target of 343 on a docile track in Rawalpindi. Pakistan fought gamely and reached 268 before being dismissed in an absorbing final session, Saud Shakeel top-scoring for the hosts with 76.
UK says support within Russia for military action is waning; US intelligence chief says Putin ‘more informed’ about reality of challenges on the ground
The former soap star shared that she is still undergoing preventive radiotherapy but is excited to go back to work after a difficult year
University of Pittsburgh classmates reported Amay Gupta and Sonel Jimenez after spotting them inappropriately touching cadavers
The story of the statue dedicated to the sheriff of Glasgow's 'Wild West'.
The 31-year-old from El Salvador is younger than England players Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson and Kieran Trippier
Apprentice Emily Tidmarsh from Worcester-based social housing and care provider Sanctuary is celebrating after picking up a second top apprenticeship award.
Beatles songs are multi-use. They can not only be used for audio entertainment but as a useful guide as to societal ‘progress’ since the Fab Four were at their peak in the 1960s.
Ninnies and twerps galore in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues
It has been three weeks since the four college students were found slain at their off-campus house
I got very close to becoming a European Space Agency astronaut, but the final lesson was a bittersweet one, says doctor Kevin Fong
Isle of Wight author and historian Alan Stroud has just released the latest book in his Yesterday's Papers series, which features accounts from the local newspaper, the County Press.
Southampton residents will have to wrap up warm as temperatures are set to plummet
