Edinburgh Libraries

At half term I went to Edinburgh for the day with my son. He has applied to the University and has an offer for Sept. He's a bit bored with sixth form college and A levels so he claims so I thought a visit to the Uni might inspire him.
We looked round George Square at the University buildings and went inside some and then came to the Library. He was quite keen to look in the library which was a nice surprise. We were both really impressed with it - Ben liked the fact that there were different areas, some quiet some more social with food & drink but definitely separate. He liked the fact that the main desk was easily accessible without being overpowering in the main entrance hall. The staff were friendly and helpful. He seemed reassured that the library was there and it would be a place that he would want to use for finding books and studying.












Later in the day after we had looked round the Uni and walked to the halls of residence we headed back to the station.
We passed the National Library of Scotland.









I dashed in to have a quick look but Ben wasn't keen and I had already spotted the Central Library across the road so thought he might be more amenable to looking in there.












It was very busy with lots of people. The staff were extremely helpful and, from what I could overhear, were dealing with a wide range of enquiries. There was a great collection of books - I could have spent a long time in there. Ben wandered around and found some history and language books that he was interested in. He is definitely one of those people that likes to browse and search on his own using the signage and system rather than ask (me too). We walked back to the station 'You could blog about these libraries we've been to today' he suggested 'Good idea' I said.