Edinburgh and Lothian HIV/AIDS Collections

LHSA holds 11 individual collections, covering the period 1983-2010, which chart the unprecedented rise of HIV/AIDS in Edinburgh and Lothian. They document the medical and social responses to the disease at a local level combining the records of the NHS, local government, charities and campaign groups; and demonstrate the external approach subsequently taken to tackle the disease across the region. The collections are inter-related and should be considered together to document the full response to HIV/AIDS in Edinburgh and Lothian.

The collections were added to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) UK Memory of the World Register in May 2011. Registration recognises the significance of these collections for our shared documentary heritage. More information about the UK Memory of the World Register is available on the UNESCO website.

This source list is designed to provide an overview of each of the collections and help pinpoint relevant catalogues. Please use the menu to the right to begin your research. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

We have continued to collect important evidence of the response to HIV in the Lothians. In addition to our 11 UNESCO-recognised collections, please see catalogues for:

World AIDS Day Organising Committee (GD53); Jacqueline Mok, Consultant Paediatrician (GD59); Judy Greenwood, Consultant Psychiatrist (GD1/143); Positive Help (GD1/145)

We hold additional collections around HIV that are yet to be catalogued. As such, we cannot guarantee access to these collections (for physical condition and confidentiality reasons), but you can find them here:

Uncatalogued collections, HIV