Collections

The National Library of Scotland is Scotland's largest library. As well as more than 13 million printed items, we have over 100,000 manuscripts, around two million maps, and 25,000 newspaper and magazine titles. We receive roughly 320,000 new items every year, and have material in 490 languages.

In this section, our specialist collecting departments give guidance on different areas of our collections. See also our brief summaries below.

Brief summary:

• British Collections
  How we collect British and Scottish materials, particularly through the legal deposit privilege.
• Foreign Collections
  Our foreign publications include material with a strong Scottish connection, works on foreign cultures, mountaineering and polar collections, and collections relating to the visual arts.
• Rare Book Collections
  Details of Rare Book Collections of printed material dating from 1455 to the present day, as well as new acquisitions, services and professional information.
• Manuscript Collections
  Information about the Library's major collections of manuscripts and archives – historic and modern – relating mainly to Scots at home and abroad, with details on how to access them.
• Map Collections
  Find out about our map services and our collection of around two million maps and map-related material, such as gazetteers and guidebooks. More than 4,000 maps are viewable online.
• Music Collections
  Information on the NLS music collections, which range from early music to pop, with a strong Scottish emphasis, and include both printed music and sound recordings.
• Science and Technology Collections
  The Science Information Service is the main NLS source for science and technical information, providing enquiry and search services. Includes extensive range of links to science sites.
• Official Publications Collections
  Principal features are publications received from the Scottish and Westminster parliaments, the Scottish Executive, all government-funded bodies (except the BBC), plus United States, Commonwealth, and United Nations publications.
• Business Collections
  Our Scottish Business Information Service maintains the largest business resource of its kind in Scotland, offering free and valued-added, fee-based services to users within Scotland and beyond.