Manuscripts
Welcome to the Manuscript Collections pages. The first manuscript was acquired by the National Library of Scotland's predecessor, the Advocates Library, in 1683, and since 1925 the Library has been the repository of the major collections of manuscripts and archives, which cover many aspects of the lives, activities and interests of Scots at home and abroad.
Personal access to the manuscript collections is open to all holders of a library card, and we aim to improve access for external users as work progresses to make more of our finding aids and catalogues available online.
Manuscript catalogues and guides can be accessed from this page to bring up online resources already available.
