(source) http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/comser/images/herita2.jpg,?i>
After having lunch at the Elephant House and getting pictures taken at the Greyfriar's Bobby, the LIS group hoofed it up to the Magnificent Mile, to Northbridge and Princes Streets, then we came upon the Balmoral Hotel (where I stayed for 2 days last year at the end of a one week Tauk tour).
I just had to go inside and rekindle the memories. I kept saying, "Ah, the Balmoral, I know her well!" I even had a nice chat with the doorman, who wore a spiffy kilt, about my stay there last year with Tauk. He replied in his Scotish broag, "Oh yes, Tauk comes here every year!" Dr. Welsh took a picture of him in his finery and then we all went across the street to the National Archives of Scotland.
We all went in the back entrance and met Margaret McBride and Pat (didn't get her last name). We were led through the Legal Research room, through more hallways, to the Lord Clerk's Cloak Room. we were told to leave all backpacks there. We all took a seat at the tables to hear margaret talk about the Archives. But first, she said that only pencils were allowed in the Archives to make notes, so everyone put away their pens and pencils were passed out.
Margaret began by saying that the NAS is a government agency, comprised of civil servants and archivists, and that it contained materials from publications, exhibiions, talks, and workshops. She also mentioned that the Keeper of Records, Linda Fabriani, also holds the tilte of Minister Europe, External Affairs and Culture , is the overall boss at the NAS.
Then Margaret started the powerpoint presentation slide show which told of their Mission: to preseerve, protect and promote the nations records. She explained the Organization: the NAS has thre locations, an IT staff, Conservation, and 30 to 40 archivists. Further, she explained the Records Services Divisions, which contains Government Records, County and Legal Records, Private Records (family, grants, etc.), and Outreach Services; the Corporate Services Division, which consists of Accommodation Services, Finance and Accounting, Information and Communication Technology, Conservation Services, and Reader Services.
Next, Margaret listed and gave a brief history of the three NAS buildings. 1) The General Register House (GRH; where we were taking the tour),: the foundation was laid in 1774 and later opened in the late 1780s, was designed by Robert Bottom and is registered as a historic landmark. 2) The West Register House (WRH; at Princes Street and Charlotte Square, west of the GRH), opened in 1971 and originally was a church. And 3) The Thomas Thomson House (TTH), which opened in 1995. It has modern architecture and an environmentally controlled storage. We were told that all materials go first to the TTH for storage, initial conservation, and electronic cataloging ( to know what shelf, bay, and building) prior to moving to the General Register House.
Additional information about the Thomas Thompson House (TTH) was given. In Record Storge, materials are stored in boxes and stacked 6 to 7 feet high. In Conservation, the British Standards, or BS5454, is used to maintain the "quality of the building." The archives contains digitized of Scottish wills dating from 1501 to 1901, and are available at local authorities. Also, historic seals are stored in acid-free bags.
Furthermore, functions of the conservation treatment were presented. They were "select public records worthy of permanent preservation; acquire other historical records of national importance, or which merits preservation; divert, desolve, or transfer records to other appropriate repositories, and make suitable arangements for the disposal of other material; to preserve to archive standards of all records selected for permanent preservation in the NAS; to promote public access to the information; to provide aadvice, guidance and support to owners and custodians of records held outwith the NAS; to take lead in development of archival and records management practice in Scotland; and, to display records.
Margaret mentioned that there are approximaely 70 kilometers in length of records dating back to 1870. These include State and Parlimentary records, Registers and Deeds and Sasines, Church Records, Wills and Testiments, Taxation Records, Valuation Records, Family and Estate Papers, Court and Legal Records, Government ecords, Business records, and Railroad Papers.
Resources the NAS offers he public is electronic and paper catalogs, as well as the OPAC. Several websites that were given include:
http://www.nas.gov.uk/ (NAS)
http://www.scan.org.uk/ (SCAN: Scottish Archive Network) -contains over 45 archives
http://www.scotlandpeople.gov.uk/ (wills)
http://www.scottishhandwriting.com/ (handwriting) -how to improve your paleography skills
http://www.scottisharchivesforschools.org/ (schools)
Also mentioned was the Historical Search Room, which was built in 1847 and initially was the Antiquarium Room.
Users are only allowed to use pencil and can only bring needed items in a clear plastic bag into any of the Reading Rooms. But first, a Reader's Ticket is required to request any materials. Its a form of security pass. Users enter their surname, seat number, and reference number into computer to access materials. Also mentioned is that users are not charged any money to search for materials, although there is a charge for legal searches.
After the electronic presentation, we were allowed to view some old archived documents. Most of the items were in protective sleeves to pevent dirt and oil stains from fingers/hands. One particular item of interest to me was the Record of Inventories: 22 July - 11 September 1885, entry for Sir Henry Raeburn, died 8 July 1823. Within the Inventory, it stated that Sir Henry Raeburn died "domiciled" or without a will. His total estate was worth 5,000 British Pounds Sterling. Quite a large sum at that time. He was a Scottish painter of portraits and I have a background in art and remember his name from my past studies.
picture of Sir Henry Raeburn
After we finished looking at several items, we walked through the free access Adam Dome (a reading room with computers), and the Matheson Dome (a private area with a second and third level of books and a few computers), and the digitizing camera lab (with 7 cameras in the main room and more in the back room). During our tour, I asked Margaret what the oldest item in the collectiion was. After a short pause, she said that it would have to be the 1174 David I Charter granting lands to St. Cuthburt Church. It measures approximately 8" x 1.5" long.
When the tour was finalized, we all returned to the Cloak Room for our bags and then dispersed to our own accord. I joined Dr. Welsh in walking down Princes Street to do a little shopping and then decided to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh on George Street north of Princes Street. Of course we both had to get a shirt from the HRC Shop. The food was oh so good. After dinner, we walked back to the bus stop and went back to Dalkeith.
Link to Scotlands People Centre
a href="http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dpictures%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bnational%2Barchives%2Bof%2BEdinburgh%252C%2BScotland%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26ei%3Dutf-8%26js%3D1%26x%3Dwrt&w=600&h=400&imgurl=www.scotsfamily.com%2FNatArchive.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scotroots.com%2FScotlands-People-Centre.htm&size=29.8kB&name=NatArchive.jpg&p=pictures+of+the+national+archives+of+Edinburgh%2C+Scotland&type=JPG&oid=1015ee16d16971f0&no=12&tt=45&sigr=11k6cn8ib&sigi=112n6gtvq&sigb=14a6i06u5">http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dpictures%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bnational%2Barchives%2Bof%2BEdinburgh%252C%2BScotland%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26ei%3Dutf-8%26js%3D1%26x%3Dwrt&w=600&h=400&imgurl=www.scotsfamily.com%2FNatArchive.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scotroots.com%2FScotlands-People-Centre.htm&size=29.8kB&name=NatArchive.jpg&p=pictures+of+the+national+archives+of+Edinburgh%2C+Scotland&type=JPG&oid=1015ee16d16971f0&no=12&tt=45&sigr=11k6cn8ib&sigi=112n6gtvq&sigb=14a6i06u5
Related Linkshttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives/environmental_managment.htm
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon_Clerk_and_Keeper_of_the_Records)
http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=42&MIBEnumID=3
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