Developed since the 1970s, the Local Collection is one of the most widely used within the Special Collections Centre. This Collection geographically covers the North-east of Scotland (i.e. the 'old' counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine, Moray and Nairn). The Collection represents an unparalleled basis for research on locally and regionally based projects, dissertations and theses.
Keywords: North-East Scotland; history; archaeology; religion; politics; geology; geography; economics; bibliography; natural history; law; education; University of Aberdeen; language; literature; art.
Strengths: Covering most aspects of life in the City of Aberdeen and the former counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine, Moray and Nairn, the Collection's particular strength lies in historical material, including statistical accounts, directories, valuation rolls, local literature, local printing, and the development of the University of Aberdeen. In addition, particular attention should be paid to the valuable holdings of the Aberdeen Almanack (1754, 1773-1952) and the Aberdeen Directory (1824-). Newspaper holdings are strong and include the Aberdeen Journal and subsequent amalgamations, now as the Press and Journal, 1747/48-to date; the Aberdeen Herald, 1832-1876; the Banffshire Journal, 1904-; the Buchan Observer, 1863-191; the Elgin Courant, 1913-1930; the Huntly Express, 1914-1930; the Northern Chronicle (Inverness), 1914-1940; the Northern Scot, 1897-; and the Orcadian, 1913-1930.
Languages:English, Scots (Doric), Latin (older texts)
Identifier: L
Physical characteristics: Over 6200 volumes
Accumulation date range: c. 1975-present
Contents date range: 1722-present
Associated Publications: Available on Library OPAC or WebPAC
Accrual Status: Active
Custodial history/provenance: It was not until the mid 1970s that the decision was taken to establish the Local Collection, to give it its own classification system. There were many publications already in the Library which were used to set up this ever expanding collection of local material. The Local Collection is also supplemented by the O' Dell Collection of railway material, with sections on the railways of the North-east and on local railway companies; the Simpson Collection of castellated architecture; the Thomson, Herald, and King Collections, which are rich in social, economic and religious history; the Lambda Collection of local authors; the Lib R Collection with topographical material; the MacBean Collection and the various archival collections, including those of the University of Aberdeen itself.
Access Control: Reference only