National Archives of Scotland

The job title "Keeper of the Records of Scotland" belongs to one person at the National Archives of Scotland. This person is head of this immense undertaking, which employees about 140 other staff members in various divisions. The basic goal of this institution is to preserve and collect the records of Scotland. Sounds simple enough, but when you consider they are in charge of all the historic records and current ones including wills, railway records, photographs, private records, tax records, church records, maps, plans, court records, just to name some of them, you can see why it is necessary to employ so many people. The National Archives is housed in Scotland's People Center, making it accessible to the public. Users need a Readers Card, which can be obtained by showing two proofs of ID, this card is valid for three years. People can do high tech ancestry research by purchasing credits to download information on their past relatives. Much of the old information has been conveniently added to a searchable database. Once a person has found the desired records, they can zoom in on specific areas and make printed reproductions. These copies end up looking very similar to the original document or photograph. Since I do not have any Scottish ancestors, I enjoyed looking at some other documents they allowed us to peruse with white gloves.

One was the Balance of Commerce of Vera Cruz, from 1802. This early Excel Spreadsheet looking document listed the total imports and exports for Vera Cruz, to and from the United States and Spain. While the format was similar to an Excel document, this handwritten form was much more aesthetically pleasing. Large, small and multi-colored script was used to write out the goods and highlight the totals. The handwriting was exquisite and made this otherwise formulaic document look like a work of art. The items traded included indigo from America, and Brandy, cacao, coffee, silver, gold, sugar, cotton, pepper, cloves, tabasco, pimento, and pickled cucumbers which were sent to Spain.

Another interesting document I browsed was a book of infirmary records. Again, all handwritten, in perfectly neat columns, were listed the person's name, age, sex, reason for admittance, date of death or release. Many came in for fever, and one 49 year old man had a "flatulence" problem.

The librarian confirmed what I was taught in reference class, it goes along the lines of the fish parable. "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish..." Basically she told us that she never just answers questions, even though sometimes it is tempting. She always leads the user to find the answer for themselves. I have noticed that many of the libraries we visited put much importance on teaching users to find their own answers, and showing them how to use all that the library or archival collection has to offer.