Scotland Archives and Libraries

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Archives & Libraries Societies Local FamilySearch Center

Scotland

Archives and Libraries

The Green Entrance Hall, National Library of Scotland

• Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm.
• If you plan to visit a repository, contact them and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, and fees. Ask if they require you to have a reader’s ticket (a paper indicating you are a responsible researcher) to view the records, and ask how to obtain one.
• Although the records you need may be in an archive or library, the FamilySearch Library may have microfilmed and/or digitized copies of them.

Archives

National Records of Scotland
H M General Register House
2 Princes Street
Edinburgh EH1 3YY
Scotland

Tel: +44(0)131 535 1314
E-mail: historical_enquiries@nrscotland.gov.uk
Family History Guide
Researching Online
Online Catalogue

• ScotlandsPeople ($) is the official research service of the National Records of Scotland. Indexes are free for statutory registers of births, marriages, and deaths; Old Parochial Registers; Catholic church records; and other church records. After locating a record in the index, the image of the record can be viewed for a small fee. Copies of records can be printed for an additional fee.

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The National Archives
Ruskin Avenue, Kew
Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU
England

Website

A guide to this repository is:
Bevan, Amanda, and Andrea Duncan. Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Record Office. 4th. ed. London, England: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1990. (FamilySearch Library book 942 A5p no. 19 1990.) WorldCat

Regional, District, and Cultural Archives

To find a full list of Scotland Archives with their addresses, go to the website of the Scottish Archive Network.

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Scottish Catholic Archives
(moving to new address on Orr Street April 2023)
Columba House
16 Drummond Place
Edinburgh EH3 6PL, Scotland

Telephone: +44(0) 131 556 3661
Email: archivists@scottishcatholicarchives.org.uk
Website

Libraries

National Library of Scotland George IV Bridge Edinburgh EH1 1EW Scotland Phone: 0131 623 3700 Website Collections An introduction to Scottish family history Online Resources: Browse by category - Family History The George IV Bridge Building is the National Library of Scotland's main public building, where you will find reading rooms, the Visitor Centre, exhibition and events areas, Readers' Registration and the shop.

National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh

National Library of Scotland Causewayside Building 33 Salisbury Place Edinburgh EH9 1SL Scotland The Maps Reading Room is in the Causewayside Building.

Postal Address: National Library of Scotland 92 Cowgate Edinburgh EH1 1JN Scotland

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The Scottish Genealogy Society Library and Research Centre
Scottish Genealogy Society
15 Victoria Terrace
Edinburgh
EH1 2JL Scotland

Phone:0131 220 3677
E-mail: editor@scotsgenealogy.com
Website

"Over the years the Society has built up a diverse, fascinating and unique collection of books and manuscripts including local histories, military, trades and profession lists, directories, Scots outwith Scotland, peerage and heraldry, school and university rolls and individual family histories. The Library also has: -

• Monumental Inscriptions, burial, death and mortcloth records - the largest collection in Scotland
• Old Parish Registers [ OPRs] with the orginal in microfilm for every parish in Scotland with OPR and IGI indexes
• Over 4000 books and CDs on family history and related subjects
• Censuses - a large collection of originals in microfilm, and indexes and transcriptions in print
• Journals from all major Scottish family history societies and some from abroad
• Internet access including a world subscription to Ancestry.com"

University Libraries

University libraries house:

• Family papers
• Estate records
• Other historical Material
• Genealogical material

Three main university libraries are:

Aberdeen University Library Manuscripts and Archive Section King’s College Aberdeen AB9 2UB Scotland Website

University of Edinburgh Library George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland Website

University of Glasgow Archives The University Glasgow G12 8QQ Scotland Libraries Archives

Local Public Libraries

Find your nearest library
Local history library staff collect and write histories of the people and places in their locale. Some libraries collect completed indexes and published materials from the local family history societies.

Public libraries collect many published sources such as:

• Local histories
• City directories
• Maps
• Newspapers
• Family histories
• Parish registers

Museums

National Museums Scotland
Chambers Street
Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Scotland

Phone: 0300 123 6789
Website

Record Offices

ScotlandsPeople ($) should be checked first when searching for statutory records of births, marriages, and deaths; Old Parochial Registers; Catholic church records; and other church records. After locating a record in the index, the image of the record can be accessed for a fee. For earlier records, this is quicker than ordering from the Registrar General.

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The Registrar General
General Search Unit
New Register House
3 West Register street
Edinburgh EH1 3YT
Scotland

Telephone: 0131 535 1314
E-mail: dataprotection@nrscotland.gov.uk
Statutory Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages
How to Order a Certificate (Also Known as an Official Extract)

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