National Library of Scotland

Collections

Explore over 61 million items. Search catalogues, browse eResources and read stories about or inspired by our collections.

Search our collections

Main catalogue

Printed, moving image, digital, and archive and manuscript collections, plus eResources and databases.
A woman standing between two long runs of book shelves stares at the old leather bound books in awe.

Map images

Over 400,000 historic maps of the UK and Ireland and beyond, in zoomable high resolution, with tools to find, compare and annotate.
Close-up photo of a map.

Archives and manuscript catalogue

Unpublished materials, from personal and writer archives to business records.
Close-up of an intricately illustrated manuscript with rich colours.

Moving Image Archive

Moving images from home movies to documentaries and from industry to entertainment.
Black and white still of a man holding a super-8 camera up to his face.

Browse digitised items and resources

Digital gallery

View a selection of digitised items from our world-class collections, including books, maps, films and more.
Two owls sitting on a branch of a tree in the woods

eResources

Access online resources to help you in work, research or leisure, wherever you live in Scotland. Find books, journals, newspapers, and much more.
Two people working together on a laptop

Data Foundry

Access datasets ready for analysis, reuse and creative exploration across text, metadata, maps and more.
Black and white photo of a large construction site with steel beams, cranes, scaffolding, and workers building a bridge.

Need help getting started?

Find out all about our collections, our catalogues, and how to use them.
Browse our guides

Stories

Explore our collections through articles, reflections and insights

Bearing and begetting

Inspired by a Gaelic poem in our collections, author Mairi Kidd has written her own fictional account of the origins of the poem.
A painting of a person riding a horse towards a group of people.

A Jacobite abroad: Queer lives in the archives

A Jacobite’s archive reveals hidden traces of James Byres and Christopher Norton’s queer partnership across exile, art and silence.
A colourful illustration of two eighteenth‑century figures reclining on a hillside, reaching toward each other across scattered artworks and objects, with floral patterns in the foreground and rolling hills and statues in the background.

Robert Burns and his "history of myself"

Much of what we know about Robert Burns comes from one letter. Discover his life and poetry in his own words.
A historical sketch of Robert Burns in a circular frame.

From Loch Ness to legal deposit: Aleister Crowley's Scottish chapter

Aleister Crowley's eerie chapter at Boleskine House, featuring occult rituals, self-published literature and "Highland haggis".
Black and white photo of a man standing in occult garb, including a head piece and a leopard pelt.

Discover endless stories and resources.

Join the Library to get access to our reading rooms, visit us to get a library card, preorder books online and access our digital resources wherever you are and at anytime you need them.
Join
An old manuscript book open on a page showing an illustration.

Support your national Library

Your donation preserves Scotland's rich heritage, ensuring that our world-renowned resources remain accessible to future generations. Every gift, large or small, makes a difference.
Donate today