Introduction to our catalogues

The Library holds millions of items, from rare books to websites, and from letters to films. We collect in many different formats, so not everything is in one place.

Whether you're studying, creating, or just curious, this is a good place to begin. This introduction helps you find the right catalogue based on what you’re looking for and how you want to explore.

If you're not sure where to start, use the main catalogue to check what we have, where it is, and how to access it. Otherwise, dive into one of our other catalogues.

The main catalogue is a good place to begin. It covers most of our collections, including the following.

• Printed books and journals

• Many archives and manuscripts

• Moving image and some sound recordings

• eBooks, eJournals and databases

• Newspapers

• Published music

You'll find some of our maps are in the main catalogue. But if you want to explore our map collections in full, head to our dedicated map images website.

You can enjoy:

• More than 400,000 digitised maps

• High-quality images you can zoom into

• Tools to search, compare and annotate

Whether you're a map lover or taking your first steps into this world, there's something for everyone.

Some of our unpublished material (like personal papers, letters, and organisational records) appears in the main catalogue. For deeper descriptions and more detailed searching, use the manuscripts and archives catalogue.

You can find digitised versions of some of these in the Digital Gallery.

Our Moving Image Archive catalogue lets you watch thousands of clips and films from home and at the Library.

This collection captures Scotland and its people from the early days of film-making to the present day, from commercial releases to home videos.

We also have written archives as part of our Moving Image Archive. For more information about these collections, you can search for them through the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN). To access this:

• Use code GB2120 for a list of archive resources on SCAN

• Browse SCAN 'Participating archives' for 'Scottish Screen Archive'.

We also have a range of specialist catalogues. These allow you to search for material in other ways.

The Bibliography of Scottish Literature in Translation (BOSLIT)

A collaborative online resource hosted by the National Library of Scotland. From October 2018, that service has ceased. We have retained BOSLIT as a dataset, and it is available in MARC XML format in our Data Foundry.

Millgate Union Catalogue of Walter Scott Correspondence

This provides records for letters written to or from Sir Walter Scott. You can search by correspondent, sender's or recipient's address, opening words, print or document location, notes, and reference number, as well as filtering by year.

Visit the Millgate Union Catalogue

Scots abroad databases

These databases cover published accounts, guides and correspondence for and by Scots living abroad from the 17th to 20th centuries.

• Scots in North America

• Emigrants' Guides to North America

• Scots in Australasia

• Emigrants' Guides to Australia and New Zealand

• Emigration from Scotland: Emigrant's Correspondence

Scottish newspaper indexes

This index covers Scottish newspapers that are held both at the Library and elsewhere and tells you where you can find them. You can search by title, and area.

Visit the newspaper indexes

Special and named printed collections

This directory lists and describes around 200 of the Library's special collections of printed books. These are usually books from a particular library or private collector that come to us as a single collection. They've been acquired since 1695.

Visit the Special and named printed collections

Rare books important acquisitions directory

This gives details about rare books that we have collected since 2000 and why they are important for Scotland.

Visit the rare books directory

Scottish Song Index

This index allows you to search for songs by Keyword, title, tune, or name. You can also browse them alphabetically. You can trace songs through their publication history.

Visit the song index

Scottish Theatre Programmes Database

This gives you access to records of programmes, playbills and posters from the 19th century onwards. You can search by keyword and year or browse by location, venue or title. Note that it is no longer being updated.

Visit the Scottish Theatre Programmes Database

Scottish books 1505 to 1700 (Aldis updated)

An online edition of 'A list of books printed in Scotland before 1701' by H. G. Aldis. This is being produced by the National Library of Scotland. The resource is currently under review. You can access Scottish Books 1505 to 1700 on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Scottish Book Trade Index

This lists the names, trades, and addresses of people involved in printing in Scotland up to 1850.

Visit the Scottish Book Trade Index

Z39.50 standard protocol to access Alma database

We use the Alma library management system supplied by Ex Libris Group. Access to the Alma database is available for data search and retrieval using the Z39.50 standard protocol (ISO 23950).

Visit Z39.50

If you're not ready to search a catalogue, or you want to get a sense of what the Library holds, try the Digital Gallery.

You'll find digitised highlights from across our collections, including:

• Rare books

• Photographs

• Maps

• Manuscripts

• Posters

• Films

We have digitised whole collections of things that may help with your research, be it for family history, or other special interests. Here is a selection:

Broadsides

'Word on the street' contains hundreds of broadsides from 1650 to 1910. These were forerunners to tabloid newspapers and are a popular source of national, local, and family information.

Visit Broadsides

Scottish post office directories

These directories cover most of Scotland from 1773 to 1910. They include a list of a location's inhabitants and information on their profession and address.

Visit Scottish post office directories

Medical history of India

You can search for and browse digitised official publications about medical history in India between 1850 and 1920.

Learn about the medical history of India

Research repository

Browse journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, reports, and datasets produced by Library staff and collaborative PhD students.

Visit the Research repository

You can access over 100 eResources, from historical newspapers and family history resources, to specialist databases about art, science and everything in between. You can browse them by title, keyword, and category.

You'll need to join the Library (it's free!) to access these.

Note, people with an affiliation to a higher education institution can't use our eResources. They will have access through their institutions instead.