The Frontline

On Monday 1 December, we received an apology from the board of the National Library of Scotland for the Library’s recent treatment of our book The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht. Letter attached.

We have today (3 December 2025) replied to Sir Drummond Bone, accepting his apology on behalf of the board (letter attached) and we have issued this statement:

STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO APOLOGY FROM NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND BOARD

We are pleased to accept this straightforward apology from the Board of the National Library of Scotland, both for the initial treatment of our book and Library’s initial response when this came to light. 

We were grateful to be able to have a frank and constructive conversation with the outgoing Chair and the Vice Chair last week, with two of our authors. We discussed the important role the Board plays in overseeing the work of the Library.

This episode has been an unwelcome heavy call on our time over the past few months. We and our authors have found ourselves subject to a defamatory campaign originating within the Library for producing a best-selling book about contemporary Scotland, that some of its readers nominated for an exhibition.

We commend the Board for recognising that this was wrong, and for commissioning an internal investigation which found that the Library’s management improperly allowed internal activists to influence its decision-making.

The National Library of Scotland is an institution of unique cultural importance to Scotland. We hope that this formal apology marks the moment that all those who have the privilege of running our National Library recognise that this episode was a low point in its history, and move forward in a truly inclusive manner.

Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn