Corstorphine Library

29/05/2026

Our opening hours have varied quite a lot for Edinburgh Libraries, including a period during 1939 when it was dusk, as part of air raid precautions! These will change with the Future Libraries strategy in the coming year. As with the past 90 years, whenever we are open, we'll be here to serve the Corstorphine community as best we can.

We were very touched for P2 from Gylemuir, along with our regulars at Crafternoons, to decorate a lovely cake for the library!

The full list of Heritage resources for researching your family and community history is available on our website:
https://yourlibrary.edinburgh.gov.uk/web/arena/heritage

28/05/2026

Next Thursday is Discover Your Library Day, supported by The Reading Agency.

If you don't feel you have a lot of time to read, we have a whole Short Stories section including the Quick Reads offering from The Reading Agency. We are also temporarily home to the Pocket Collection, a great set of short books you won't need to spend too long to finish.

There is so much that you can do in our (or any) branch and online with your library card, and it is all free! If you're not sure if you're a member, come along with some ID or proof of address and we can make you a new one.

2026 is the National Year of Reading -

27/05/2026

Historic annual reports from Corstorphine Library paint an interesting picture of the local community that has remained interested in its own history amid changes to the buildings, parks and, of course, the library itself.

It is hard to imaging the library without its rear extension (proposed and approved in 1960), but the report from 1991 covers two big changes: replacing the old revolving door with a wheelchair-accessible ramp and door, and enlarging the desk area to allow the installation of our first computers!

If you want to see pictures, maps and stories through the years of Edinburgh, have a look at Our Town Stories through Edinburgh Libraries:
https://www.ourtownstories.co.uk/

27/05/2026

While our own garden is blooming, are you interested in joining in as the warm summer weather comes in?
Our friends at Drumbrae Library are hosting workshops about growing food using seeds, the first of which is on Monday. Just head along for 6pm, it is free and there is no need to book ahead.

We are delighted to share that Drumbrae Hub now has its very own Seed Library, in collaboration with Lauriston Farm. As part of this new project, we are offering free workshops for people to learn more about food growing and seed saving.

Our first workshop, Grow a Row, encourages the local community to dedicate a row, a pot, or a garden bed to growing seeds for our Seed Library. Hannah from Lauriston Farm will be visiting us to talk about the importance of seed saving and how to grow specifically for seed saving. The main focus of this workshop will be on pea and bean seeds, alongside a selection of flowers and herbs.

There will be seeds available to take home so you can get growing yourself. We will then meet again in late summer to learn how to gather and prepare these plants for seed saving, and hopefully restock the Seed Library with what the community has grown.

This session is suitable for adults, and you do not need a large garden to take part. Whether you have a small garden bed, a few pots, or even a balcony, there are plenty of ways to grow for seed saving in small spaces

Monday 1st June at 6pm
Free
Adult event, age 16+

26/05/2026

One of the resources you can use to research history yourself is the British Newspaper Archive! You can register for an account when logged into a library computer or with your own device when using the Library Wi-Fi, and access a vast collection of newspaper articles going back to 1710!
https://yourlibrary.edinburgh.gov.uk/web/arena/bna

This was a useful source of information about the library's history:
£10 (over £1000 in today's money) was raised at a concert in 1876 for the Corstorphine Public Library fund. This was supplemented in 1901 by great patron of libraries, Andrew Carnegie, who provided £1000 for construction of the older library building next door.
The old library was agreed to be sold to the 10th Midlothian Boy Scout group to be used as their headquarters in 1935.
While there was no formal opening of the new building, Corstorphine Library was advertised soon after it opened its doors on 29th May 1936: 90 years ago on Friday!

The British Newspaper Archive offers online access to millions of pages of British and Irish newspapers from 1700s to 1990s. It's a fantastic resource for everyone interested in history, and especially for family and local historians. 

26/05/2026

We have our first digital coaching session with ACE IT coming up! These sessions are run by staff and volunteers, helping people use their own devices to get online for anything they would like to learn how to do.

If you or someone you know is over 50, book in for 2pm on Thursday 11th June by phoning 0131 667 2053 or emailing [email protected]
The first block will run for six weeks, so you can book for further sessions even if you cannot attend them all.

26/05/2026

This week we will be sharing a few posts for Local and Community History Month, including a part of the history of Corstorphine Library and highlighting some of the online resources you can access using your library membership.

You can come and have a look at our display all week. Our local history section is available all the time, and has a large selection of books on Corstorphine and Edinburgh, some which can be borrowed and some only viewed in the library.

2026 is the National Year of Reading -

25/05/2026

Here is May's tip from NHS Lothian's Speech and Language Therapy team.

"I like it when you play alongside me, letting me take the lead.
Watch and wait to see how I choose to play and what I am interested in. Join in by making a comment or taking a turn. Give me plenty of time to respond."

You can have a look at previous tips and other articles at the BBC website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people

24/05/2026

The end of Bookbug week is nearly upon us and Bookbug has had a great time exploring the library, now they are on a quest to do some colouring in.

we have a varied range of colouring in sheets for your wee one to enjoy :-)

2026 is the National Year of Reading

23/05/2026

Are you interested in practical advice to help save energy and money? On Monday 8th June at 18:30, we are hosting one of charity Changeworks' free Low Carbon Living session, offering bite-sized guidance to help with Saving Energy at Home.

The session offers:
-Home energy-saving tips
-Priority Services Register & Warm Home Discount
-Smart meters & Radio Teleswitch
-Billing concerns and how to speak to your energy supplier
-How to raise a complaint with your energy supplier
-An opportunity to ask energy advice experts questions
-Free, anonymous follow-up through a self-service call back request.

You must register for the event, and will need to include your home address as this is used to provide evidence for future charity funding:
https://www.changeworks.org.uk/geh-events/?cw_eventid=98af9745-d052-f111-bec7-7ced8db81094&cw_eventtype=Saving%20energy%20at%20home&cw_eventtime=Monday%2C%20June%208%2C%202026%206%3A30%20PM%20at%20Costorphine%20Library
Registering in advance is preferred, but you can sign up in person at the start of the talk.