About 'A Home Away from Home'

This resource aims to support teachers and students studying the topic of emigration from Scotland at secondary level. The resource focuses on first-hand accounts of emigration conveyed through letters and photographs, and supplemented by maps and printed material, from the National Library of Scotland collections. The site has been developed to include themes and topics studied in the curriculum, including: push and pull factors, the impact of mass emigration on Scotland and host countries, and the personal experience of emigration.

The resource is divided into three main themes – Leaving Scotland, Starting a New Life, and Settling In. Within each theme, you can explore the experiences of two individuals or families who emigrated from Scotland during the 18th or 19th centuries. The stories have been selected to reflect specific aspects of the theme. For each story, there are suggested questions and activities to encourage analysis and evaluation of the primary sources.

Copyright and permissions

All images, text, and audio on this website are copyright of the National Library of Scotland (NLS), unless stated otherwise, and may be used for non-commercial and educational use.

For any additional use, permission must be obtained from the National Library of Scotland by contacting copyright@nls.uk. Please visit the copyright information page on the NLS website for more information.

For non-NLS images, please contact the Library in the first instance. Requests will be forwarded to the copyright holder.

The following individuals took part in the audio recordings which are featured on this website:

  1. John Salmond – read by Kenny Blyth
  2. John and Hugh Kerr – read by Michael MacQueen
  3. Peter Hastie – read by Colin Healy
  4. George Anderson – read by Danny McLaughlin
  5. Alexander and Duncan MacArthur – read by Matt McClure
  6. Flora McDonald – read by Emma Currie

National Library of Scotland

The National Library of Scotland (NLS) is one of the great libraries of the world, with a collection of around 14 million printed items, 2 million maps, 32,000 films and over 3 miles of manuscripts covering virtually every subject. NLS is the world's leading centre for the study of Scotland and the Scots, and the collections span the centuries from early times to the digital age. As well as supporting the work of academic researchers, the Library engages visitors of all ages and interests through an ongoing programme of learning activities, exhibitions, and events. For more information, please visit the National Library of Scotland website.

NLS holds extensive collections relating to emigration from Scotland, including letters, diaries, photographs, emigration handbooks, posters, maps, and newspapers. The Scots Abroad database allows you to search some of the printed and archive material by place name or personal name. You can also search the Library catalogue for more modern material relating to the theme of emigration. If you would like more help in finding material in the collection please contact the staff in the Enquiries and Access team: Ask a librarian - National Library of Scotland.

If you would like to find out more about a particular item featured in this resource, or if you would like to visit the Library to see the original item, please refer to the shelfmark or reference which is listed with each of the sources. This reference number will help the Library staff to identify the specific item.