Wanted to brainstorm new academic project ideas. Still have lots to work out. But helped hugely by just rediscovering my handwritten notes from quite a few years ago for further academic journal paper possibilities based on my PG research into the local Melrose (Scottish Borders) court 1650s-1680s. That was for my MPhil (taught PG) history dissertation at Dundee University. I built a huge database of nearly 2500 local court cases, almost 10,000 participants. So much that I can research further. Amused at my handwritten note "researching court officials more inc my g..uncle the punching judge"! I also want to do more new historical research projects, as much as my progressive neurological disease allows. But I do have this mass of Melrose local court material readily accessible and already largely digitised. And I can certainly look at exploring its possibilities further, in multiple ways.

Very happily tonight started browsing Stirling University’s Books and Borrowing 1750-1850 database of Scottish libraries, which is now online, including contributions from me of library borrowing transcripts and databases for Haddington and Selkirk libraries.

P.S. The facts and figures section computing over the underlying databases is hugely impressive. Here are its entries for the libraries in Haddington and Selkirk. Scroll down to the very bottom to see some stunning charts over time.