Eclectic Happenings in Edinburgh

I discovered the New College on the Mound while searching for books for a research paper on the affects of industrialization and urbanization on religion in Scotland, c.1750-1830 . This site is home to the University Divinity School and their library, which saved me as the main library had already loaned out the books I needed. My experience in the library reminded me of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons: as it was dimly lit; no one was in the lower recesses where I had to go; a majority of the books were over a hundred years old with many looking older with ornate gold and leather bindings;  you moved from level to level by a narrow and dark stairwell; you had to press a buzzer to leave; and you entered and exited the library through a colossal wooden door reminiscent of a medieval castle.

 Luckily, the fate of the Vatican City didn't rest on how quickly I could find the books I needed.
Below, is one of the locked rooms, containing what I'll call manuscripts, in the vaults.