The Local Studies Centre in Oldmeldrum is home to an extensive and evergrowing collection of materials relating to the North East of Scotland. Spanning from the 18th century to the present day, our resources preserve the region’s unique heritage, culture, and communities for future generations.
We welcome everyone, from casual visitors to dedicated researchers, to explore our archives. Whether you are curious about how the region has grown or keen to learn more about the people and places that define our communities, the Local Studies Centre offers a rich and accessible gateway into the past of the North East.
We offer a rich collection of resources to support your research. Many materials are held at our Local Studies Centre in Oldmeldrum, with a selection also available across our branch libraries.
Alongside our main collections, we also hold a variety of useful resources, including ARI hospital death record books, University of Aberdeen graduate lists, pollable persons, photographs, and postcards.
We have microfilm copies of all local census returns between 1841 and 1901 in the Local Studies Centre and local census records in selected libraries.
Find out where they are available at:
OPRs and census records on microfilm (PDF)
If you wish to view 1911 and 1921 you will need to use ScotlandsPeople.
Monumental inscriptions are engravings on gravestones or other grave markers/memorials to the dead.
We have a collection of monumental inscriptions booklets covering Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Kincardineshire.
Old Parish Registers cover the records of births and baptisms, banns and marriages and deaths and burials kept by Church of Scotland parishes before the introduction of civil registration in 1855.
We have microfilm copies in the Local Studies Centre and local OPRs in selected libraries.
Find out where they are available at:
Local Studies books, such as Statistical Accounts, etc are available in each of the libraries and are useful for giving background information about the area where your ancestors lived.
Books about family history are available for borrowing from our libraries. You can reserve them through our online catalogue.
Newspapers are useful for family notices, obituaries etc. We have an extensive archive of local newspapers published in microfilm and bound format.
British Newspaper Archive is available online in all libraries.
Maps are useful for locating the residence of ancestors. There is an extensive collection of local maps located at Local Studies - (6 inch and 25 inch to the mile) of Ordnance Survey and other maps from the late 19th century onwards including a set of 1st (circa 1870s) and 2nd (circa 1902) edition Ordnance Survey maps.
In 1855 Scotland introduced annual rolls for the tax on property in every burgh and county. Valuations rolls provide the names of proprietors, tenants and occupiers for properties.
Our local valuation rolls date from 1865 up until 1989. And coverage for the area varies.
A collection of printed registers for the local area are available in the Local Studies Centre from the mid 1900s for historical research purposes.
A useful way to find out names of people (who were eligible to vote) living at an address in a specific year.
Visitors can book their visit to the Local Studies Centre in advance in one-hour slots. If you require more than an hour, please contact the Local Studies Centre. You can book online or via telephone using the Live Life Aberdeenshire Helpline, 01467 532929.