The National Library of Scotland has been shortlisted for the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) Awards, celebrating the teams and projects transforming communities across the country.
From tackling social isolation and widening access to learning to bringing people together through creativity, this year’s nominations span a diverse range of initiatives across the Team of the Year and Project Excellence categories.
This year’s awards also mark the launch of the Jacqueline Geekie Award for Excellence in Digital Innovation, recognising individuals or teams who embody the creativity, collaboration and encouragement of the late Jacqueline Geekie, a valued colleague and digital pioneer within Scotland’s library community.
Selected by an independent judging panel led by SLIC Chair Alan Clarke, alongside guest judges Garrett Baylor Stell, a journalist with The Herald’s specialist education team, and Susan Calcluth, Scotland Lead for the National Year of Reading 2026, the shortlist recognises six teams and projects that together demonstrate the breadth of ambition and impact across Scotland’s library sector.
The National Library of Scotland has been shortlisted for the Project Excellence Award 2026 with their project Experiences of Rain. This intercultural project explored rain as a shared element of natural and cultural heritage, bringing together seven co-creators with lived experience of migration to share memories, stories and cultural perspectives.
Through creative workshops at the National Library of Scotland at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, participants explored Library collections and worked with poet and storyteller Dr Tawona Sitholé and sound artist Ros Fraser to create a sound installation for the library’s 2026 Rain exhibition.
The project supported intercultural learning, creativity and connection, with the installation forming a central part of the exhibition, which attracted a record 28,531 visitors in its first two months.
The three services shortlisted for ‘Team of the Year 2026’ are–
- Glasgow Life – Libraries Development Team: Delivered Wee Write Book Festival 2026, which reached 2,681 pupils through its education programme and welcomed more than 1,000 attendees to Family Day.
- Midlothian Library Service: Expanded the role of libraries as community hubs through literacy initiatives, cost-of-living support, digital inclusion and accessible services shaped around local needs.
- University of Glasgow – Library and Information Studies MSc Team: Established a new CILIP-accredited postgraduate qualification, creating a flexible route into the profession and developing the skills needed by future library and information specialists.
The other services shortlisted for ‘Project Excellence 2026’ are –
- Glasgow Life – EDI Change Making: Leadership Insights & Practice Development: Built national expertise in inclusive library services through a leadership programme completed by 81 participants from 13 local authorities, delivering more than 1,500 hours of learning.
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow – Maximising Audubon’s The Birds of America: Combined conservation and digitisation with public engagement, increasing visitors to the collection from 351 to 1,478 in just four months.
The winners will be announced at the SLIC Showcase and AGM on Friday 6 November 2026 at The Barracks in Stirling, alongside the winner of the inaugural Jacqueline Geekie Award, established as a lasting tribute to Jacqueline’s contribution to the profession and the encouragement she gave colleagues to explore new possibilities.
SLIC Chair Alan Clarke said: “Across Scotland, teams are developing services that respond to changing community needs, opening up new opportunities for learning and creativity, and making collections and expertise accessible to more people.
“This year’s shortlist reflects that ambition, with projects and teams demonstrating both measurable results and meaningful change for the people they serve. The introduction of the Jacqueline Geekie Award is also an important opportunity to recognise the role of digital innovation in shaping the future of libraries, while celebrating a colleague who inspired so many across our sector.
“Congratulations to all those shortlisted. We look forward to celebrating their achievements at our Showcase and AGM in November.”
The SLIC Awards are open to all SLIC member libraries, which includes public library services, further and higher education libraries, and specialist libraries across Scotland.
This year’s awards recognise work undertaken between June 2025 and June 2026.
