Our centre exists solely for the purpose of family history research and is run by our knowledgeable and experienced volunteers. We have access to the largest collection of graveyard inscriptions in the country (many unpublished); OPRs on film for the whole of Scotland; a library of over 4000 volumes which focuses on family history, social history and Scottish and local history, including many volumes regarding Scots emigration; and a large collection of family histories contributed by individuals over the years.

Members also have:
- free access to ancestry.com and findmypast.com.
- A quarterly journal
- Regular electronic newsletters
- Workshops on specialised topics such as Censuses, Maritime records, Old Scottish Handwriting, etc
- Courses for beginners
- Winter programme of lectures
- Evening visits to the Scotlandspeople centre at Register House.