Orkney Archive

Orkney Archive is situated on the upper floor of the building and holds a wealth of historical records about Orkney which everyone can use to find out more about the past.

Photocopies and scans are available at the discretion of archive staff. Please contact us for details of charges before ordering.

Download a guide to the records held by the archive (updated 22 March 2013)

We are very pleased to have received the first batch of the papers of Orcadian writer George Mackay Brown in November 2011, which have been placed on permanent loan with the Archive. This collection will grow as more of his papers are catalogued but a list of the first batch can be downloaded.

Download a list of D124 - George Mackay Brown papers

Family historians and fishing boat enthuisiasts can download a list of fishing boats registered in Orkney between 1852 and 1968, held in collection CE55/11: Orkney Customs and Excise: Shipping Registers. The list has been compiled by our volunteers and provides the names of vessels, their date and port of registration, their owner and their master.

Download the list of fishing boats registered in Orkney, 1852 to 1968

The Gunnie Moberg Archie

An award from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has enabled Orkney Library and Archive to purchase the archive of the Swedish photographer, painter and designer Gunnie Moberg (1941-2007). Her work records the historical, social and geographic landscapes of the islands of northern Scotland and beyond, including collaborations with the Orcadian writer and poet George Mackay Brown, with whom she produced a number of books.

The award will fund a two-year project involving the cataloguing, conservation and digitization of the archive and as part of this a blog has been set up to provide information about Gunnie Moberg and the project.

Visit the Gunnie Moberg Archive blog.

Visit our Blog

Family history

If you're tracing your Orcadian family roots we can provide access to records which may help you to find out more. These include:

• Valuation rolls, electoral rolls and census schedules
• Old Parish registers and newspapers on microfilm
• School records and photographs

Local history

We hold a wide range of records which will aid research into almost any aspect of the history of Orkney and its people, including the Orkney Room which contains thousands of publications relating to these islands plus Caithness and Shetland, dating from the 17th century onwards.

Photographic Archive

The Photographic Archive contains a large collection of Orkney images from the 1860s onwards, and prints can be purchased.

Sound and film

We hold an extensive collection of oral history recordings and audio visual materials dating from the 1950s onwards. Copies of recordings can be purchased.