The Local History Centre, located in Dundee Central Library, has a collection of over 20,000 items, including books, pamphlets and directories relating to the City of Dundee and surrounding areas - one of the largest and most varied collections of local history materials in Scotland. We support a range of academic, community and family history researchers, work with other heritage organisations within Dundee to share our collections, and our staff are experienced in sharing their collective expertise through talks and workshops. Our partners in the Wighton Musical Heritage Centre organise concerts and tutoring in traditional and historical Scottish music.

These include the A.C. Lamb collection, comprising over 450 boxes of ephemera, including maps, photographs, antiquarian books, prints and a significant collection of broadsides and poetry. The collector, Alexander Crawford Lamb, was a late 19th century antiquarian and hotelier, whose efforts focused on preserving both the history of Dundee and its contemporary culture during a time of great change for the city. Our 19th century collections include significant holdings relating to the Tay Bridge Disaster, and to the late Victorian poet William McGonagall, including manuscript poems and correspondence.

Our other holdings include, but are not limited to, local newspapers including the Dundee Telegraph, Courier and People's Journal dating back to their earliest publications; locally produced magazines including The Wasp and The Piper O' Dundee; photographic surveys of the city; and historical and contemporary maps and plans of Dundee and surrounding areas. We also hold a wealth of material relating to the history of various industries within the city.

Our Family History Research collections include the International Genealogical Index for Scotland and Old Parish Registers and census returns for Dundee and some surrounding areas.

The Local History Centre is also home to the Wighton Heritage Centre for the Study and Appreciation of Scottish Music. The Centre houses the world-famous Wighton Collection of early printed music and performs a vital role in furthering the study and development of music in Scotland.