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Burns was a Scot After All

By Beverly Burmeister

This story may primarily be of interest to library types (specifically catalogers) or people of Scottish heritage, but it nevertheless demonstrates the effectiveness of widespread protest. As reported on January 12, 2008 in The Times, the Library of Congress agreed to reverse an earlier decision to classify all Scottish writers under the general heading of "English."

With this decision the works of renowned writers such as Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as current author Ian Rankin would have been listed as "English literature." When the Library of Congress decision was originally published in The Times last fall and a storm of protest was rose from a wide range of sources including the National Library of Scotland, the decision was reversed.

This is of particular interest as this blogger has been systematically reading all the Inspector Rebus novels by Ian Rankin set in Edinburgh, which feature the unmistakable landscape and people of Scotland. Pick up one of his books and see what you think!

Full post as published by V.U.Lawcity - The Valpo Law Blawg on January 21, 2008 (boomark / email).