Gazetteer for Scotland
Encyclopedia
The Gazetteer for Scotland is a gazetteer
covering the geography, history and people
of Scotland
. It was conceived in 1995 by Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh
and David Munro of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
, and contains 15,500 entries as of January 2008, making it one of the largest Scottish-based web sites. It claims to be "the largest Scottish resource available on the web".
Following on from a strong Scottish tradition on geographical publishing, the Gazetteer for Scotland is the first comprehensive gazetteer
to be produced for the country since Francis Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-5) (the text of which is incorporated into relevant entries). The aim is not to produce a travel guide, of which there are many, but to write a substantive and thoroughly edited description of the country, including industrial sites and many other features not of tourist
interest.
In terms of the web, the Gazetteer for Scotland is historically interesting because it is one of the earliest decisions to take what would have been a book
and make it available as a website
, realising that the content would grow to much larger than could be economically publishable. The web medium also permitted many more illustrations that would be possible in print. A book has, in fact, been published as a later output of this project Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places and Landscape (2006), which distills the keys facts from the Gazetteer for Scotland database, together with high-quality mapping, into a handy reference form.
The Gazetteer for Scotland was also a pioneer in terms of geographical information and mapping on the web.
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory, an important reference for information about places and place names , used in conjunction with a map or a full atlas. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup of a country, region, or continent as well as the social...
covering the geography, history and people
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was conceived in 1995 by Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
and David Munro of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
Royal Scottish Geographical Society
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society is a learned society founded in 1884 and based in Perth. The Society has a membership of 2500 and aims to advance the science of geography worldwide by supporting education, research, expeditions, through its journal , its newsletter and other publications...
, and contains 15,500 entries as of January 2008, making it one of the largest Scottish-based web sites. It claims to be "the largest Scottish resource available on the web".
Following on from a strong Scottish tradition on geographical publishing, the Gazetteer for Scotland is the first comprehensive gazetteer
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory, an important reference for information about places and place names , used in conjunction with a map or a full atlas. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup of a country, region, or continent as well as the social...
to be produced for the country since Francis Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-5) (the text of which is incorporated into relevant entries). The aim is not to produce a travel guide, of which there are many, but to write a substantive and thoroughly edited description of the country, including industrial sites and many other features not of tourist
Tourism in Scotland
Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4bn per year. Tourists from the United Kingdom make up the bulk of visitors to Scotland...
interest.
In terms of the web, the Gazetteer for Scotland is historically interesting because it is one of the earliest decisions to take what would have been a book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
and make it available as a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, realising that the content would grow to much larger than could be economically publishable. The web medium also permitted many more illustrations that would be possible in print. A book has, in fact, been published as a later output of this project Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places and Landscape (2006), which distills the keys facts from the Gazetteer for Scotland database, together with high-quality mapping, into a handy reference form.
The Gazetteer for Scotland was also a pioneer in terms of geographical information and mapping on the web.