What can historic library borrowing records tell us about the milieu that produced Adam Smith, the great theorist of capitalism; or James Watt, whose improvements to the steam engine propelled the industrial revolution? Which books were the students and professors at the eighteenth-century University of Glasgow actually reading? How Scottish was the Scottish Enlightenment?
Tackling these questions and more, this free event provides an opportunity to engage with the ongoing work of the AHRC-funded project 'Books and Borrowing: An Analysis of Scottish Borrowers' Registers, 1750-1850', led by Prof Katie Halsey and Dr Matthew Sangster at the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow; see https://borrowing.stir.ac.uk/ for more details.
Following introductions from Prof Halsey and Dr Gerard McKeever (Stirling), there will be a series of talks from experts at Glasgow: Dr Kit Baston, Dr Michelle Craig, Dr Craig Lamont, Robert MacLean (GUL), Dr Dahlia Porter, Dr Craig Smith, Dr Matthew Sangster.
These talks are being broadcast from Special Collections at Glasgow University Library, where a longer in-person event is taking place. If you would like to attend the in-person event instead, please visit the alternative listing here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/books-and-borrowing-in-eighteenth-century-glasgow-in-person-tickets-290362240277
