Sir Sean Connery backs £6.5m for National Library of Scotland archive

Sir Sean Connery yesterday explained how his love of books and reading had bolstered his confidence and self esteem "just as body building had", as he backed a new campaign to raise money to pay for a significant archive for the National Library of Scotland (NLS) - reports The Herald.

The actor has thrown his weight behind the NLS's public campaign to raise £6.5m so the library can complete the payment for the John Murray Archive.

Sir Sean visited the NLS in Edinburgh last year and read some of the contents of the archive, including a letter from Charles Darwin to Murray, his publisher, outlining proposals for Origin of Species and the manuscript of Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

The Murray Archive was bought for £31m in 2005, and is a treasure trove containing more than 150,000 items penned by some of the greatest writers, politicians, scientists and explorers of the late 18th to early 20th centuries.

Sir Sean said: "You see, at five I first learnt to read I was astonished to find that the libraries were free. The fact I read them books, learning new words as I went along, increased my confidence and self-esteem just as body-building had done for me years before."

Martyn Wade, head of the NLS, said he was "particularly delighted" that Sir Sean had highlighted the archive's importance for what it represents - a resource for everyone.

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