A to Z Index:

Local Studies

ScotlandsPeople - discounted access

Aberdeenshire Library and Information Service now has available for purchase from the Local Studies Dept vouchers which give discounted access to the Scotlandspeople website. This is one of the largest online sources of original genealogical information. For further details see the following information.

 

Enquiries

local studiesFor enquiries, which are undertaken by Local Studies Department staff, the first half-hour of research will be carried out without a charge for staff time. Thereafter an hourly charge will be incurred.

You can use our online enquiry form to make an enquiry or contact us by phone, email, fax or in writing

There will also be a charge for any materials photocopied (subject to copyright regulations)and postage if required.

Please note, it will not be possible for staff of the Local Studies Department to undertake research for enquirers from outwith the local area meantime. This policy will be reviewed when it is hoped that we will be able to extend the range of services the Department can offer.

Main Collections

Books on local subjects and by local authors:

  • bibliographies
  • histories
  • directories
  • family histories
  • fiction
  • drama
  • top of page poetry

Family history materials on microfilm

A collection of the microfilm and microfiche resources listed above, covering every parish in Aberdeenshire, is held in the Local Studies Department, Oldmeldrum. Some ALIS branch libraries also hold a smaller collection of microfilm relating to their own geographical area.

Census records

- 1841 and every 10 years thereafter (100 year closure)
- Currently available on microfilm – 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901

Old Parish Registers (OPRs)

17th Century – 1854

These are registers kept by the Church of Scotland of baptisms, marriages and burials in each parish. They date back typically to the 1600s, although precise dates will vary from parish to parish and many records are incomplete. In 1855 it became the role of the Registrar to record births, marriages and deaths.

The International Genealogical Index (IGI)

c.1690 – c. 1875

Effectively a microfiche index of christenings and marriages listed in the OPRs. The information has mainly been taken from Old Parish Registers and covers the dates from roughly the late 1600s to about 1875. The indexes mainly cover the Church of Scotland records and a few other churches. The IGI does not include dtop of pageeaths or burials.

Local newspapers

Aberdeenshire Library and Information Service has an archive of all local newspapers currently published, both bound and microfilmed and an extensive historical archive of local newspapers. Where possible the archives of the newspaper are made available on microfilm at the nearest relevant Library

Maps

Extensive but not comprehensive collection (6” and 25” to the mile) of Ordnance Survey and other maps from the late 19th century onwards . Also a complete set of 1st (c. 1870s) and 2nd (c. 1902) edition Ordnance Survey maps (6” to the mile) can be accessed using a CD-Rom facility only available in the Local Studies Department at Oldmeldrum.

Special collections

top of pageSuch as the George MacDonald Collection, Strichen Estate Collection

Contact

Local Studies Department
Aberdeenshire Library and Information Service
Meldrum Meg Way
The Meadows Industrial Estate
Oldmeldrum
AB51 0GN
Online Enquiry Form
Tel: 01651 871219
Fax: 01651 872142
Email: local.studies@aberdeenshire.gov.uk