An important landmark was reached on 12 October when Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches was launched by Patricia Ferguson, MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport. The ceremony, hosted by the University of Edinburgh, was held at St Cecilia’s Hall in Edinburgh and included contributions from all the main partners. We are very grateful to the Principal of the University, Professor Timothy O’Shea, for his hospitality. See the pictures alongside to get a flavour of the day.

Several new appointments have been made since the last newsletter:

Kenneth Beaton has been appointed Technical Manager and takes up his post on 4 December. Kenneth is currently working as a Senior Quality Assurance Analyst with HMV in London. He comes from South Uist and has a keen interest in Gaelic music and culture. He will be based at the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh and will run the Tobar an Dualchais operation there, as well as having overall responsibility for technical aspects of the project. 

Shona MacDonald is the new Manager of the South Uist centre in Lochboisdale. Shona is from Iochdar, South Uist and began her career as an engineer, although for the past eight years she has been running her own business in Benbecula. Shona is active in various community activities, and has a lifelong interest in heritage issues. Until renovations at the Lochboisdale office are complete, Shona can be contacted on 01870 603000.

Kirsty Lamb joined the team in July as Catalogue Co-ordinator. Kirsty is a graduate of the School of Scottish Studies who has previously worked at Taigh Chearsabhaigh, the museum and heritage centre in North Uist, and more recently as a freelance editor and translator. Kirsty will be based at her home in North Uist. Contact Kirsty on 01876 580774.

Emma Mackay took up the post of Copyright Officer, based at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, in August. Emma, who is a languages graduate, is a former information officer and advice centre researcher and recently completed Sabhal Mòr Ostaig’s Cùrsa Inntrigidh Gaelic course. Contact Emma on 01471 888602.

Clair MacDonald has just started this week (November 6) as Administrative Officer in Lochboisdale. Clair, who previously worked at the Royal Bank of Scotland, will be working part-time on the project.

We are about to interview a number of people to fill three posts within a pilot cataloguing team. The pilot team will test out processes and help to prepare guidance for the full team of cataloguers who will be starting work in 2007.  We received a very large response to the adverts for pilot cataloguers, indicating a very encouraging level of interest in the project.

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