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 |  Scott’s Library, virtually as he had left it and various collection items came into the care of The Faculty of Advocates in 1954, when the Entail executed by Scott’s son in 1839 was broken. In addition to the on going work of conservation and arrangements for consultation of volumes for research purposes, in 1996 The Abbotsford Library Research Trust was established, with the further aims of stock checking, improving cataloguing, and exploring the resources of the Library. A unique, productive and friendly partnership of House, Faculty and the Universities of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh make up the Library Research Advisory Committee, together with representation from the National Library and with distinguished members of Faculty and its own legal library. The Project now has dedicated premises at Abbotsford. Working on the two substantial unpublished Scott manuscripts remaining, in 2004 Drs Ali Lumsden and Gerard Curruthers of the Advisory Committee published Reliquiae Trotcosienses, Scot’s humorous account of the making of his Library and Collections, with Sylva Abbotsfordiensis, his account of planting on his estates, appearing on the Faculty website in 2007. Hopefully these publications are the beginning of many more revelations of the Library’s treasures. Much has been achieved by way of conservation and reassessment, and undoubtedly the most important foundation activity so far is the huge task of construction of a new, digitized and searchable catalogue, updating and complementing that of 1838. |