I have selected Scotland as a country to examine, not because it is a developing country, but because it is a country with a deep and rich cultural heritage and because Scotland is undergoing a change in governmental structure.

In 1997, the people of Scotland voted by 74 per cent for a Scottish Parliament and by 63.5 per cent for that Parliament to have tax-raising powers. [1] The new Parliament met for the first time in 1999. Scottish Nationalists hail this devolution as the first step on the road to independence from England and a step toward a more global alliance with Europe as a whole. Whatever the outcome of these devolution steps, this new governing authority is faced with the responsibility of meeting the need to preserve the cultural heritage of this portion of the British Isles.

This paper provides a brief background of Scotland, reports on the state of archives in Scotland as conveyed in a recent report published by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, and provides a reference list for further study.

Scotland has many "firsts" that can be used to describe it.[2] It gained its first woman judge in 1996 (Lady Cosgrove). Its first university, the University of St. Andrews, was founded in 1411, followed by the University of Aberdeen in 1495, and the University of Edinburgh in 1583. The Library at Edinburgh is the largest academic library in Europe. The University of Dundee (founded in 1881) is known for its conservation training program, although there is no archival training program in the country at this time.

Scotland can boast of the oldest subscription Library in Britain, Leadhills, founded in 1741, and the largest public reference library in Europe, Mitchell, (founded in 1876 and located in Glasgow), with a capacity for four million volumes. The first newspaper printed in Scotland, Diurnal Occurences, was printed in Edinburgh in 1642 dealing mainly with matters in England. The first true Scottish newspaper is Mercurius Caledonius, printed in Edinburgh in 1661. The first census in Scotland was conducted in 1775 by Rev. Alexander, Moderator of the General Assembly, and Joseph Black (1728-99) is credited with inventing writing paper in Scotland, producing it from bleached rags. Searching the online public access catalogs in Scottish Universities quickly results in retrieval of citations for books with publication dates from the 1800s forward. Searching mechanisms are sophisticated, providing many search strategy options and, in some cases, providing simultaneous searches across multiple library catalogs.

An example of an exchange between Jim Wallace, Deputy First Minister, and Sandra White, member for Glasgow, is shown here and illustrates that archives are on the minds of some of the members of this new Parliament:[3]

Many large collections illustrating the history of rural communities in Scotland remain in the hands of private owners in Scotland. Some believe that many distinguished collections of major landed families containing legal and estate papers are yet to be uncovered. Legislation that allows for private manuscripts to be donated and even loaned in lieu of tax collection now exists and is credited with keeping important archives within the country. During the 1990s, many collections were accessioned into repositories, but many remain in private hands.[4] The Heritage Lottery Funding allows for collections that come up for sale in the marketplace to be purchased, most feel that funding is inadequate to meet all of the needs.

Some collections are safely housed in the "storehouses" of major universities and at the National Archives of Scotland (recently renamed from the Scottish Record Office) at the H.M. General Register House in Edinburgh and the West Register House also located in Edinburgh. The National Archives of Scotland is the main archival source on the history of Scotland as a separate kingdom, her role in the British Isles and the records related to Scotland spanning the period of the 12^th through the 21^st centuries. [5] Twenty-three University libraries can be readily identified in Scotland. In addition, many other information resources of a local nature are spread across the country under control of local councils and local governing bodies. Not all are consistently or well managed. Some of the smaller local councils have no archival or records management functions at all, leading the Keeper of the Records of Scotland to publicly describe one area of the country as "an archival black hole." [6]

In Edinburgh alone, one can find 140 libraries that demonstrate their highly collaborative efforts by belonging to the Edinburgh Libraries Strategies Group, a part of the Cultural Policy of the City of Edinburgh Council with the aim to develop partnerships and working relationships between institutions from every sector. Each of these libraries submitted information about their resources and access to their resources for a guide that is available in both print and Internet form. Other collaborative efforts are visible including participation in ARCHON. ARCHON is the principal information gateway for UK archivists and users of manuscript sources for British history.[7] It is hosted and maintained by the Historical Manuscripts Commission. Other resources can be easily identified including the Scottish Archives Network and the Museums, Libraries, and Archives Council.

Special libraries and archives in Scotland have received funding from the Joint Funding Council's Initiative for Specialist Research Collections in the Humanities. The University of Aberdeen, for example, received funding to retrospectively catalog records related to older printed materials and add these records to the OPAC catalog, prepare a networkable database of archive collections descriptive lists allowing for full-text searching, and development of a digitization program so that online versions of Aberdeen University's medieval manuscripts such as the Aberdeen Bestiary and the Burnet Psalter are made available to the world. [8] Images from the George Washington Wilson Photographic Archive related to Australia and South Africa are also available online. Follett Funding was a much-used financial resource, but fears are that when the initial grant funding is exhausted, the programs will wane. The Conservation Service at Dundee University Archives is one such program that is flourishing with the past funding. More recently, in 1994, the Heritage Lottery Fund became a reality and these funds are spawning initiatives to preserve and conserve the cultural heritage of the British Isles.

The Keeper of the Records of Scotland has general oversight of archives of all kinds and is quite active in promoting awareness of archives, preservation, and conservation. The Scottish Records Advisory Council and others have worked closely with the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (formed in 1869) and now plan to bring before the new Parliament an initiative for a Scottish National Archives Policy. This promising legislation has not yet come to the table for action, but it is actively discussed by members of the archivist and preservation community and by representatives to Parliament. The Keeper of the Records of Scotland, Patrick Cadell, has been very active and highly visible in the International community of archivists.

In recent years, Scotland has reorganized local authorities under the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1994. In this reorganization, some centralized archive services were split apart, but most remained intact. Fife, for example, remains without adequate archival services, but most small service areas have been strengthened as a result of the reorganization. Strains due to reorganization and lack of adequate funding to process backlogs, create access paths, and plan for the intake of electronic resources are felt across the country and have been recorded in writing by many who chose to address the Historical Manuscripts Commission when they asked for written comment in order to prepare their twenty-eighth report, Archives at the Millennium.[9]

The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts examined in detail the 1991-1999 timeframe in the United Kingdom for their report, Archives at the Millennium. The method used to collect data included soliciting written comment from users and institutions on policies related to archives. Using this method to collect evidence, they uncovered strengths and weakness viewed from many vantage points. The viewpoints represented providers of services, creators of the records, private owners of records, and the users of the records. The report illustrates the infrastructure needs of the entire area under the purview of the Royal Commission and offers suggestions for legislation and government direction, funding, publicity and promotion, collaborative effort, national priorities, and structures that are needed across the United Kingdom.

Quoting from one of the informants in the study:

Some informants expressed the view that Scotland is "not notably prosperous" and noted that there is no sign that additional resources will be forthcoming for archives or that records management will be embraced with enthusiasm unless legislation mandates the effort at the local council level.

The Keeper of the Special Collections at the Edinburgh University Library provided testimony for the Royal Commission that discussed the strains placed on existing archive services by local government reorganisation as well as the substantial backlogs in cataloguing and conservation he deals with at the University. He refers to the ridiculously low profile of archivists.

A user of archives had this to say:

The Royal Commission, on the other hand, refers in its report to successes including the strengthening of the archive conservation unit at Dundee University, and the Glasgow University Archives' Business Records Centre which heavily documents the shipbuilding and heavy engineering companies of Scotland. The Royal Commission offers hope that regional funding possibilities through the Heritage Lottery Fund will provide archives in Scotland with new opportunities.

Overall strengths reported by the Royal Commission include the following[12]:

Weakness include the following:

Recommendations in the report include the following [13]:

• Funding is needed along with the recognition that long-term funding commitments are necessary to meet appropriate standards for care, preservation, and access to archives

• Every sector of the United Kingdom needs to receive more publicity and promotion concerning archives and archive services

• Reaffirmation of coordinated approaches and the value of coordinated approaches among national and professional bodies concerned with archives. Cross-sectoral collaboration is advocated, but with the understanding that archives have a distinctive and separate role from libraries and museums.

• Archives need to be represented in the full range of networks being developed by the government and top priority must be given to preservation. Digitization of original materials has a part to play, but should be approached with due caution.

• The newly established Museums, Libraries, and Archives Council is most welcome.

Scotland is a cold and rainy (misty) country. Aberdeen posts average high temperatures as 64 in July and August and 42-47 in November through February. Precipitation varies from 3.1 inches per month to 1.9. Glasgow reports from 22 to 26 wet days each month of the year. In Kirkwall, wet days are posted in the 23 to 29 range. [14]

I asked Karen where the Royal Observatory turns when outside advice is needed.

Scotland seems to have a promising future for the preservation and conservation of its cultural heritage. People are aware that training in conservation, preservation, and archival enterprise is needed. At the national level, funding is a large concern, but collaborative efforts among institutions are well established. Technology is widely used in the universities and in the urban areas of the country and research projects in digitization have already made some materials available worldwide. The concerns expressed by the archivist at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh sound very familiar, indeed, and so do the issues of local versus national control. From my exploration of the resources that are readily available, it seems to me that Scotland has launched significant and well developed efforts to provide access to and preserve its cultural heritage. The enormous backlogs that exist in cataloging, the needs to maintain and update appropriate storage environments, and the investments necessary to create persistent technological access will forever be in competition with the need for conservation work to preserve the heritage of the country. Scotland is not alone in needing to find a balance among these needs.

Archive Services in Scotland Archive Mapping Services Project Board. An Archival Account of Scotland: A Report. Edinburgh: National Archives of Scotland, 2000.

E-mail message. Karen Moran to Susan K. Soy. 10/15/2000.

Joint Information Systems Committee. Higher Education Funding Council for England. Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. Accessing Our Humanities Collections :A Guide to Specialised Collections for Humanities Researchers. London : Joint Information Systems Committee, 1996.

Proposed Scottish National Archive Legislation. Dundee University Archives. October 12, 1999. Available:

Scottish Universities Special Collections and Archives Group. Ensuring Scotland's Cultural Heritage. Glasgow: Scottish Universities Special Collections and Archives Group, 1997.

Turnbull, Michael T. R. B. Scotland: The Facts. Glasgow: Neil Wilson Publishing, 1998. Available: http://www.nwp.co.uk/ and http://www.fact.scotland.net