Obituary, James Seaton OBE, principal keeper of the National Library of Scotland.

James (Hamish) Robert Seaton spent most of his professional career in the National Library of Scotland, where he was a constant and welcoming presence to readers and visitors alike. Born in Blair Atholl, on 2 April, 1918, he was the youngest of the five children of John Seaton, of Kinloch Rannoch, and Jane Stewart of Logierait.

His father’s people were Gaelic-speaking, the name Hamish deriving from family use of the Gaelic vocative of James (Sheumais).

He attended primary school in the old schoolhouse at Blair Atholl, going on from there to Pitlochry High School, where he was Dux in 1935. In that year, he entered the University of Glasgow to read classics, graduating MA with first class honours in 1939.

In the same year he was recruited for military service in the Royal Artillery, a regiment of the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division, which was then deployed in Belgium and the Netherlands.

While billeted in Gerardsbergen, in Belgium, with the Broekaert family, who were to remain life-long friends, he learnt the language, earning the accolade from Franz Broekaert that, “Hamish speaks Flemish without blemish”. He completed his army career as a captain in the Control Commission in Germany, the 52nd Division having established its headquarters there in 1945.

On his return in 1946, he entered the University of Edinburgh with the intention of studying law, but the following year he joined the National Library of Scotland, surrendering law in favour of a lifetime’s passion for libraries.

He began his career as assistant keeper in the Department of Printed Books, and for six years, from 1960, he was secretary of the library. He became deputy keeper in 1964 and keeper in 1966, with special responsibility for the catalogue and the introduction of automation. In 1974, he was appointed principal keeper of printed books, a post he held until his retirement in 1983.

His time in the library spanned that of three eminent librarians: Marryat Ross Dobie (1947-53), William Beattie (1953-70) and Denis Roberts (1970-83).

In 1966, he married Anne Vernon from the Isle of Man, a fellow classicist, who also worked in the National Library. Their two sons, John and Robert, were born in 1967 and 1969.

In an age when the book was pre-eminent, Hamish had a natural affinity for the library’s collections. During his keepership, the national collection was strengthened by the acquisition of important special collections and the systematic enrichment of its European and international holdings through the work of specialist curatorial staff.

He took a keen personal interest, too: he could often be seen on the stack-floors, occasionally at unsociable hours, pursuing a line of enquiry or a serendipitous point.

He retained a deep sympathy for his Gaelic roots, taking pride in the library’s Gaelic special collections, notably the Blair Collection, assembled by Lady Evelyn Stewart Murray, daughter of the 7th Duke of Atholl. Firmly convinced that libraries should make their collections more accessible, he did much to encourage the microfilming of the catalogue and to set the foundations for computerised cataloguing.

Many of the leading initiatives of the time, such as the Bibliography of Scotland, bore his imprimatur; and he was influential in the steps that were taken in the early 1970s to encourage co-operation among research libraries in Scotland. Long before management techniques swept through research libraries, Hamish had his own very individual style. A visit to his office with a query could lead to a lengthy tour de force through his wide range of scholarly interests.

His memos, the communication medium of the day, would fill the entire space on the memo sheet and continue around all the edges. Gregarious and sociable, he attracted visitors to the library and forged numerous contacts.

He was a strong advocate of links with research libraries in continental Europe, always conscious of the place of Scotland’s national library in the wider world.

He had an active interest in bibliography and formed a particular affection for books relating to the Indian Mutiny of 1857, amassing a substantial personal collection to which he gave generous access.

On one occasion, he invited the entire Edinburgh Bibliographical Society to his house to view the collection. A chance enquiry sparked off a lively interest in genealogy, and led to a long association with the Scottish Genealogy Society, of which he was a council member. In the 1970s, two society members, John and Sheila Mitchell, initiated the Monumental Inscriptions project, recruiting volunteers to record all pre-1855 inscriptions in Scottish graveyards. Hamish entered enthusiastically into this work, contributing his time to recording inscriptions in the graveyards of Blair Atholl and Kilmaveonaig, St Bride’s at Old Blair, Struan, Aldclune, Borenich, Moulin and Dowally for the North Perthshire survey, published in 1975.

He was a member of Edinburgh Bibliographical Society from 1948, was honorary secretary from 1953 to 1977 and then president from 1980 to 1983. He was appointed OBE in 1979.

In retirement, Hamish divided his time between Blair Atholl and Edinburgh, combining his love of Atholl with the enticements of the bookshops and bookish pursuits of the city. Heart trouble required bypass surgery in 2002, from which he made a good recovery.

When increasing age took its toll, he spent his last seven months in the care of the Erskine Edinburgh Home, where he passed away on 18 August. He is survived by his sister Georgie, in Glasgow, and by his wife Anne and his sons John and Robert.

Ann Matheson