This page lists catalogues and databases you can use to find items in our Archives and Manuscript collections in addition to the main catalogue. You can also use printed manuscript catalogues in our Special Collections Reading Room.
Once you have found details of items you require, you can order them using our online manuscript order form.
Catalogue of Archives and Manuscript Collections
This is the beta version of the new catalogue of the Archives and Manuscript Collections.
The coverage of the catalogue will increase as we continue to convert our offline finding aids. If you cannot find what you are looking for in the catalogue, you may need to use the offline finding aids in the Special Collections Reading Room. If you cannot visit in person, please contact the Archives and Manuscript Collections team through the online enquiry form.
Interim guidance notes are available in the catalogue as a PDF. Once you have found an item, you can request it by entering the details into our online manuscript order form.
Guide to manuscript collections
This guide covers all the significant manuscripts and archives held in the Archives and Manuscripts Collections.
We provide detailed inventories of many of the larger collections as PDFs. You can search guide titles by keyword or by reference number, or browse the A-Z lists.
Each inventory is also available through the relevant description in the Archives and Manuscript Collections catalogue.
John Murray Archive manuscripts catalogue
This catalogue has been revised and expanded and is now available as the 'Archive of John Murray, publishers' in the Archives and Manuscript Collections catalogue. The descriptions there provide much more information on the content of the archive.
Scottish labour history collections in Archives and Manuscript Collections
This list contains summary details of all collections of significant size in the field of Scottish labour and trade union history, including personal papers of individuals active in these movements.
An index to modern political manuscripts in the National Library
This index mainly contains details of 20th-century material. It lists the National Library of Scotland's holdings of the national and local papers of some of the political parties in Scotland, together with the personal papers of many politicians.
Scots Abroad databases
This resource relating to the activities of Scots overseas includes a database listing emigrants' correspondence and papers from the Archives and Manuscript Collections.
Visit the Archives and Manuscript Collections pages for information on collections and services.