A plan of the Battle of Culloden is one of the treasures from the national collections which is visiting Inverness in September. Drawn around 2 years after the defeat of Jacobite forces in 1745, the plan gives important details about the battle. It travels to the Highlands as part of the National Library of Scotland roadshow from 13-15 September. Also on display will be an engraving of a scene from the battle and two broadsides of Highland interest, while more recent material will be available for browsing. NLS staff will be on hand to provide specialist knowledge and advice. A series of events will include talks on family history and Highland maps, and films from the Scottish Screen Archive. See our roadshow page for more details.

Key items relating to the Reformation in Scotland go on display for 2 months from Wednesday 1 September. To mark the Scottish Reformation's 450th anniversary, we have selected a few iconic items from one of the most important periods in Scotland's history. One of them is the famous and controversial work by preacher John Knox – his 'First blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of women'. We also show: a papal bull (edict) threatening German monk and theologian Martin Luther with excommunication from the church in 1520, and Luther's reply to the papal bull in 1521; a 1631 Gaelic translation of Calvin's 'Catechisme'; and a copy of the 'Scots Confession of Faith', prepared by Knox and others. This document spelled out what the Reformed Faith in Scotland would be, and was ratified by the Scottish Parliament in 1560. The Scottish Reformation display is free and open daily in September and October.

Items from the National Library of Scotland are included in a worldwide online catalogue of cultural merit that is launched today. The United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed a UK version of its Memory of the World Register. Focusing on items of outstanding universal value, it promotes the UK's documentary heritage across the UK and the world. UNESCO has chosen a film and 3 collections from the NLS archives as Scotland's first items to gain Memory of the World status: 'St Kilda: Britain's loneliest isle, 1923-1928' - a film capturing scenes of a community that was to disappear in 1930 after 2,000 years; the Pont maps - a collection of hand-drawn maps by pioneering cartographer Timothy Pont that offer an important insight into 16th-century Scotland; the Chepman and Myllar Prints - a volume by Scotland's first printers which contains the earliest surviving dated book printed in Scotland (1508); and the archive of the Company of Scotland - which includes the Darien Papers held at NLS. This company was involved in the ultimately disastrous scheme to set up a Scottish trading colony in Panama in the 1690s. The Royal Bank of Scotland also owns part of the archive, and the nomination of this collection was made jointly by NLS and RBS. All 10 of the first inscriptions on the UK Memory of the World register have been described as 'some of the UK's exceptional, but lesser-known, documentary riches'. They were formally recognised today in an event at the House of Lords. Read more in our UNESCO Memory of the World press release.

David Livingstone's fragile 140-year-old diary is the subject of a major project which will decipher the Scottish explorer's faded handwriting. During his journeys in Africa in 1870-1871, Livingstone improvised when he ran out of paper and ink. He tore pages out of books and old newspapers, writing around the margins and crosswise over the text. For ink, he used pigment taken from the seeds of a local berry. His writing on these pages has been virtually unreadable for many decades. Scientists are now recovering Livingstone's unique observations using a ground-breaking multi-spectral imaging technique to illuminate the pages and separate the layers of texts. At the end of the project, the missionary's diary will be available in unabridged form for the first time, on the Livingstone online website. Part of the diary is preserved by the National Trust for Scotland at the David Livingstone Centre. Further portions and additional letters are held at the National Library of Scotland - the largest repository of Livingstone-related documents in the world. The 18-month Livingstone diary project was launched at NLS by a transatlantic team of researchers from University of London's Birkbeck College and spectral imaging scientists from the USA. The team has already produced a demonstration edition of a Livingstone letter from 1871.

The National Library of Scotland's Board of Trustees has responded to the public consultation on reforming the Library's founding legislation. Held by the Scottish Government, the recent consultation focused on proposals which would modernise the 1925 National Library of Scotland Act. NLS Trustees have agreed to modernise the Board and reduce the number of Trustees from the present level of 32. However, they disagree with the proposal that Scottish Ministers should be able to 'direct' the Library. Read the Trustees' response to NLS consultation.

Visitors to Edinburgh this summer have a chance to see a selection of the earliest surviving detailed maps of Scotland. Timothy Pont's unique hand-drawn maps give us an illuminating glimpse into the Scottish landscape during the Renaissance period. They have become one of Scotland's greatest historical and geographical treasures. During July and August, a changing group of four of the fragile original maps is on display, along with enlarged prints of others from the collection. All the Pont maps also feature in a slideshow. Pont created the first comprehensive survey of Scotland, and his work formed the substantial basis of the first Atlas of Scotland. The Pont manuscript maps display is open daily from 5 July to 29 August. Admission is free.

Scotland's importance to the story of golf is one of the themes explored in the National Library of Scotland's major exhibition in 2010. 'A swing through time' draws on historical items to help tell why an ordinary ball and stick game took off in Scotland at least as far back as 1457. Modern trophies, alongside documents and artefacts from the intervening centuries, show how the game of golf developed into today's multi-million pound industry. The exhibition coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship. Among the many exhibits, visitors can see: the earliest 'Rules of golf', drawn up by Leith golfers in 1744; the first minute book of the world's oldest golf club; the Act of Parliament of 1457 banning golf and football; and Sandy Lyle's Claret Jug, won at the Open in Sandwich in 1985. The golf exhibition is free and open daily, running from 18 June to 14 November.

Supporting the school curriculum in Scotland is a new a learning resource focusing on qualities displayed by self-help 'heroes'. Florence Nightingale, James Watt and David Livingstone are among figures from the 19th century whose story is told in 'Heroes: The splendid insights of Mr Smiles'. Each of the 8 stories demonstrates a characteristic celebrated by Victorian author Samuel Smiles in his bestselling book, 'Self help'. Smiles highlighted people he regarded as being an inspiration through qualities like perseverance, duty and courage. Graphic-novel style animations help demonstrate 'the hero factor' in each story, and the teachers' area includes downloadable resources for primary and secondary schools. Source material comes from the John Murray Archive at the National Library of Scotland.

Users of iPhones and iTouch devices can now download an application to explore part of the John Murray publishing archive. The John Murray Archive app takes users on an interactive journey spanning 7 generations of the John Murray family and their writers. Five themes, including literature, science and travel, highlight material from the collection at the National Library of Scotland. Introducing each section is Scottish broadcaster and writer Kirsty Wark.