Business and family archives
Many important collections relating to Scottish businesses and families remain in private hands. In some cases, it is possible to visit and view these collections, or to submit a research enquiry. A number of organisations hold information on these collections.
A good place to start is The National Register of Scotland conducts regular surveys of many privately held collections, some of which may be searched on their digital catalogue. If you hold a private collection, the National Register of Archives may also provide support and advice in listing and caring for your collection.
The National Register of Scotland
The National Archives includes some basic information regarding privately held archives in Scotland; these can be discovered using the “Scotland” region filter, and use archive type filters “business” and “private”.
The National Archives Discovery database of UK archives
Further details about business archives in Scotland may be found through the Ballast Trust