Microfilm
The Archives has a large microfilm collection, with copies of material outside Shetland. Microfilm is a very stable and long-lasting way of preserving large amounts of information. For example, newspapers are bulky and often too frail to be viewed in their print versions. Microfilm is a good way to view such items.
The Archives has more than 400 reels of microfilm which contain the Shetland Times from 1872 to the present and the Shetland News from 1885-1963. We also have microfilm of the Orkney and Caithness press from the period before the Shetland newspapers came into existence: they have contributions by Shetland correspondents with important information. Volunteers are preparing indexes to the Shetland publications.
Two other important series of records on microfilm are the records of Shetland censuses, from 1841-1901, and the Old Parochial Registers from Shetland parishes, with records of baptisms, marriages and deaths. We also have copies of Shetland material from record offices and libraries throughout the world.