A EXAMPLE of a Gutenberg Bible will go on display at the National Library of Scotland on 22 November.
Produced in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, the Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed using moveable type in Europe.
Anette Hagan, curator of Rare Books, said: "The Gutenberg Bible is among the most precious items in our collections, and we’re delighted to bring it out for a day for people to see. "It caused a sensation when it made its first appearance at the Frankfurt Bookfair in 1455, and to this day it has only gained in significance.
"The printing press was arguably the greatest technological advance in communications before the modern age, and transformed the way ideas and information circulated as much as the internet has done today.
"Without it, significant world events such as the Reformation would not have had the far-reaching and fast impact that they did, and in time, printing propelled a growth in literacy and the consumption of literature unimaginable in Gutenberg’s lifetime."
The NLS copy of the Gutenberg Bible is one of 20 complete copies still in existence.
It was owned by Lord Provost of Edinburgh David Steuart from as early as 1796.
He sold it to the Advocates Library for 150 guineas around 1806.
The Bible, along with all non-law-related collections of the Advocates Library, was passed to the National Library when it was established by an Act of Parliament in 1925.
www.nls.uk
AROUND half a million books are to be gifted to school pupils as part of Book Week Scotland.
Every pupil currently in Primary 1 to 3 in Scotland will receive books as part of the annual celebrations.
Now in its seventh year, Book Week Scotland is run by Scottish Book Trust.
In total, 458,450 free books will be gifted.
63,000 bags will be gifted to Primary 1 pupils across Scotland, plus 750 Gaelic bags, all containing three books each.
The books included in the Bookbug Primary 1 Family Bag are shortlisted for the Bookbug Picture Book Prize, which celebrates the very best of Scottish authors and illustrators.
The titles are: Eric Makes a Splash by Emily MacKenzie; One Button Benny by Alan Windram, illustrated by Chloe Holwill-Hunter and I am Bat by Morag Hood.
Primary 2 and Primary 3 pupils will receive A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Robertson and the Children’s Picture Atlas published by Collins, along with storytelling cards and dice.
www.scottishbooktrust.com
THE all-female choir Les Sirenes are to host a Christmas celebration concert in Glasgow's Mackintosh Church on 14 December.
After winning the BBC Choir of the Year competition in 2012 Les Sirenes have released two commercial CDs ‘There is no Rose’ (Christmas Choral Works) and ‘Sing Willow’ (Shakespeare Song).
They have reached the semi-finals of the Europe-wide choral competition ‘Let the People Sing’ and have once again been entered to represent the UK by the BBC.
The choir will perform festive music alongside works by Edward Elgar, Ola Gjeilo, Stephen Paulus, Arvo Part and Paul Mealor.
Tickets are available from the Royal Conservatoire Box Office.
www.rcs.ac.uk/boxoffice
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