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Evening visits

Stairwell between Adam Dome and Reid Room

Various views inside the ScotlandsPeople Centre

To make your visit as enjoyable as possible here is some guidance to help you get the most out of your visit.

Access

— Entry to the Centre is through the main entrance at 2 Princes Street Edinburgh, up the steps behind the statue of Wellington on his horse.

— Separate Disabled access entrances are available. Click on the link to find out more.

— On entering the Centre you will be in the shop area. The main reception is past the shop and in the Adam Dome. A member of staff will direct you to the reception for free searches and seat bookings.

— Visitors will be able to take wheelchairs, prams or buggies through any of the search rooms.

— Visitors will able to leave valuables in lockers by the main entrance. Lockers are operated by pound coins. See the facilities page for full details.

— No passes are required within the Centre however visitors are restricted to public areas only and must obey signage restricting access to staff and private areas.

How to get a seat at the Centre

— Booking a seat before you come. You can pre-book and pay for your seat at the Centre by phoning beforehand (see Contact page) or in person at the Centre. (In the near future you will also have the option of booking your seat online at this website). When you pre-book and pre-pay you will be given a seat number and allocated a username and password which you will have to use to log onto the system once you arrive. (For methods of payment see the Charges page.)

— If you have booked a seat before you arrive you can go directly to your seat on arrival at the Centre with no need to go through reception. There will be a number on your personal computer so you will be able to identify your seat. (Familiarise yourself with your seat location prior to your visit by looking at the room layouts in the Search Rooms pages) A supervisor will be on hand and will offer any help you may need and to ensure you are at the correct seat.

What are the advantages to pre-booking and paying?

— You get a guaranteed place on the day of your choice.

— No waiting once you get to the Centre, you go straight to your seat.

— No seat booked. If you have not booked a seat you must go to the reception desk in the Adam Dome. Once you have paid your £10 day search fee the supervisor there will create a user account for you and allocate a seat to you in one of the search rooms (Reid Room or Matheson Dome) if there are seats available. Once you have found your seat a supervisor in that search room will offer any assistance you might need. It is strongly recommended that to avoid delay and to guarantee a seat that you pre-book and pay for your seat.

— Two-hour free search. If you want a free search go to the member of staff in the Adam Dome reception dealing with those enquiries and you will be given advice on how to proceed. Sessions begin at 10:00 am. You cannot pre book these sessions. Look at the Taster Sessions page for further information on this.

How do I create an account?

— Before you begin searching you will be required to have an account with a user name and password. Staff will create an account for you with a user name and password. If you pre-book a seat the details will be sent out to you prior to your visit. If you don't pre-book staff will create an account for you on arrival.

— You can add money to this account at the supervisors desk and use this to pay for any printing or saved images. Instructions will be available to help you do this.

Leaving your desk

— Once at your desk you will be given a sign to say that your seat is occupied with the desk number on it. If you go out to lunch leave the sign on the desk so that the supervisor and other users know the seat is taken. If you leave for the day please hand the sign back to the supervisor.

Special requirements

— Helpers accompanying disabled persons will be admitted free of charge and given a second seat at the terminal of the disabled visitor.

— Adjustable desks and special monitors are available for disabled visitors. It is advisable to pre-book these. Further information is available on the Disabled access page.

Other resources

— Microfiche/Microfilm. There may be occasions where the image you see on your computer screen may not be of the highest quality. This could be for a number of reasons. If this is the case then inform the supervisor of the poor image and the original microfilm will be brought to the search room. All rooms apart from the Adam Dome will have a microfilm/microfiche reader where you can view the image. Unfortunately no original registers can be brought to you unless you are in The Dundas Room. The Registers are kept in New Register House and are not permitted to leave the building.

— Stand Alone computers. Each search room has a stand alone computer with various databases and Compact Discs, most of which have been donated over the years. As such it is an ad hoc collection but nevertheless it may provide additional information to your research. Full details of the information available on these stand alone computers can be found on the stand alone computer page. The ScotlandsPeople Centre does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of these resources and they are listed as an aid to research only.

— Useful websites. Users will be able to access approved websites from within the Centre. These will be genealogy-related sites which can supplement your research with information not provided by the ScotlandsPeople records. A full list of these websites can be found on the useful websites page. The ScotlandsPeople Centre does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of these resources and they are listed as an aid to research only.

Laptops

— Customers will be allowed to bring in their own laptops and plug them into the sockets provided.

— Once you have paid for them you can download record images from your terminal onto your USB stick and then transfer them onto your laptop at your desk.

Help

— Help will be available in the form of an instruction folder at each desk and supervisors will be on hand to help visitors with getting their search underway.