Services and Access

Service update: Covid-19

Face-to-face services at the Centre for Research Collections will resume on Monday 26th April 2021. If you wish to visit the reading room, please read the guidance on our Visitor Information pages carefully, including the requirement for online registration. Our reading room will operate between 11am and 3pm, Monday to Friday, and all appointments need to be booked in advance by contacting us (lhsa@ed.ac.uk).

Up to date information about the University of Edinburgh's response to COVID-19 is available here.

Information about wider library services is available on the library webpages.

Consulting Our Material

Lothian Health Services Archive is based in the Centre for Research Collections (CRC) on the 6th floor of the Main Library, University of Edinburgh. The majority of our collections are held in this building, with a proportion of lesser-used collections housed in the University Collections Facility. Reading Room facilities are available at both locations. There is no charge to consult our records.

Please contact us to make an appointment before visiting. As a small team, we ask this so that:

we can ensure that a member of LHSA staff is available to help you with your research
we can ensure that you are directed to the correct location (Main Library or University Collections Facility) depending on which records you'd like to consult
we can ensure that the records you'd like to consult are ready for you on arrival, otherwise you will have to wait until the next collection time
we can advise you in advance of any restrictions on access which may apply

If you are not a student of the University of Edinburgh or a member of staff, you will need a reference card to access the Main Library building. The card is arranged on your arrival if you bring in the documentation specified below:

https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/library-museum-gallery/crc/visitor-information/registration-and-access

When your reference card is issued, please take the central lifts to the Centre for Research Collections reception on the sixth floor to register to use our reading room, which is a very quick process once you have your library reference card.

Please view our video guide for information on handling collections material safely in the CRC reading room.

Please note that if you are from a university that subscribes to the SCONUL programme, your registration process is slightly different and you need to bring the following:

a staff/student card for your home institution (must be photographic)
a print-out of an email from SCONUL confirming you have registered for access to the University of Edinburgh

Making an Enquiry

If you are unable to visit LHSA in person, or are unsure initially about whether we can assist you in your research, our enquiries staff are happy to help you. Please contact us with any questions.

Talks and Tours

LHSA staff can give tours of the Archive and the CRC to interested parties. We are also available to give talks about LHSA, our records, and the work we do. Please contact us for more information.