An index to many of the books and microfilms in the Family History Library is:

Smith’s Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Scotland. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Family History Library, 1994. (FHL book 941 D23s; fiche 6110528.)

FamilySearch™

FamilySearch™ is a collection of computer files containing several million names. It is a good place to begin your research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; some have been automated from original records.

Once you select a file and type in a name, the computer searches the file and finds any names that match. The computer even finds last names that are spelled differently but sound the same. You can then view a full screen of information about the individual, including dates and places of birth, marriage, and death and names of parents, children, and spouses.

FamilySearch™ is available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah; at Family History Centers worldwide; and at some public and private libraries in the United States, Canada, and a number of other countries.

The FamilySearch™ files useful for Scottish research include:

• Ancestral File. Ancestral File contains family history information gathered from family group records and pedigrees that have been contributed since 1979. The file already contains millions of names. You may contribute your family history information to Ancestral File. For more information, see the publication Contributing Information to Ancestral File (34029), available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers.
• Family History Library Catalog. The Family History Library Catalog on FamilySearch™ is an automated edition of the Family History Library’s catalog. The automated edition allows you to quickly find information about sources available through the library and obtain the library call numbers.
• International Genealogical Index. The International Genealogical Index provides the names and vital information—including birth, christening, or marriage dates—of deceased people who lived in Scotland. The index includes names extracted by volunteers from parish registers and civil registrations and names submitted by other researchers. The International Genealogical Index contains so much information about people from Scotland that it is important to search this file when beginning research on any name.
• Scottish Church Records. Scottish Church Records is an automated index to the christenings and marriages of the Church of Scotland. It dates from early times up to the end of 1854. The Family History Library also has microfilm copies of the original records.