As a result of the 1710 Copyright Act and of the Library's historical background as the library of the Faculty of Advocates, the National Library of Scotland has rich collections of official material, beginning with the House of Lords Journal. Dating from 1509 to the present day, this record of House of Lords proceedings is the Library's oldest currently published periodical.
Our official publications include a largely comprehensive collection of the publications of the Westminster Parliament from the early 19th century to the present day, together with extensive holdings of the publications of government departments.
The Library does not only receive the publications of the Scottish Parliament. In addition we have extensive collections of overseas publications, including United States government publications, material from Commonwealth countries, and the India Papers collection of published documents relating to the British administration in India from the post-Mutiny re-organisation of the Indian government to Indian independence in 1947.
As a depository library for the United Nations and for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, our official publications collections include a number of items not readily available elsewhere, making them an excellent resource for research, for example, political research and social research.
You can find help to find official publications material on our finding guide page. If you cannot find what you are looking for, ask a member of staff in the Library, or contact us.