The Scottish Life Archive is open to everyone. It aims to collect, record and preserve documentary and illustrative evidence of Scotland's material culture and social history.

The Scottish Life Archive was established in 1959. It includes aspects of Scotland's rural, urban, maritime and industrial communities, such as housing, work, warfare, leisure, customs and religion, all arranged by subject.

The majority of the archive collection dates from the 1880s to the present day, but there is some material dating from 1700. Whether you want to discover old manuscripts and letters, or trace your family history, the archive offers a unique insight into all aspects of Scottish life.

Material collected

The Scottish Life Archive consists of a variety of material: an extensive photographic collection and other illustrative material such as drawings, prints, posters, postcards and video recordings.

It is also home to a unique collection of manuscripts, letters, diaries, books, leaflets, oral recordings, maps, plans, trade catalogues, paper ephemera and an extensive newspaper cuttings collection.

While some film footage is also held, the archive does not aim to collect film stock. The bulk of the film collections consist of films made by the East of Scotland College of Agriculture during the 1940s and 1950s.

The wide variety of information available within the archive can be used to research many topics, including local history and Scottish traditional events, such as the celebrations of Beltane, the Fire Ball Festival and the New Year's Day Ba' games. Written and pictorial material is available.

Family history

The archive is a valuable resource for those researching family history. For example, searches can be made in the areas of trading, craft families or estate workers, where some prior knowledge is known.

How to access the archive

The Scottish Life Archive is open to everyone, from students and academics undertaking research to those with an interest to discover more about Scottish life in a historical context. 

Online access

You can access examples of our collections in our collections search, Flikr, and at www.scran.ac.uk which provides high quality images and multimedia files, all copyright cleared for educational use.

In-person access

If you are unable to find the material you are looking for online, you can visit the Research Library at the National Museum of Scotland, which houses the Scottish Life Archive’s finding facility.

Research Library
Level 3
National Museum of Scotland
Chambers Street
Edinburgh EH1 1JF

Opening hours
Tuesday to Thursday 10:00 – 16:00
Closed at weekends and public holidays