a bit of history

I was in the book room at the village hall today. I always like the old-looking ones and hope to find interesting inscriptions or bookplates.
Here is one such.

The Kirkwall library is the oldest public library in Scotland. It was founded in 1683 with a bequest of 150 books by William Baikie. At first the collection was kept at the local manse. Then it was moved to the Cathedral.

Until 1890 it was a subscription only service but after that, with a donation from Andrew Carnegie it became a free public library.
With a further donation in 1903 the library was able to move into a dedicated building. We now know that site as the old library, since the books moved once again in 2003 to their current building.