01 Identity
Scottish charity record
- OSCR charity number
- SC011086
- Status
- Active
- Regulatory type
- Standard
- Designated religious body
- No
- Geographical spread
- Scotland and other parts of the UK
- Volunteers
- 1-50 volunteers
- Staff
- 313
- Postcode
- EH1 1EW
02 Purpose and work
What the charity exists to do
Functions are in line with the National Library of Scotland Act (2012)
Charitable purposes
- the advancement of education
- the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
Beneficiaries
- No specific group, or for the benefit of the community
Activities
- It carries out activities or services itself
Constitutional objectives
The advancement of education. The advancement of arts, heritage, culture, or science.
03 Annual returns
Income and expenditure history
| Year end | Total income | Donations | Charitable activities income | Trading income | Investment income | Other income | Total expenditure | Raising funds | Charitable activities spending | Other spending | Staff | Return received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2026 | £30,296,000 | £8,359,000 | £750,000 | £231,000 | £489,000 | £20,467,000 | £25,851,000 | £612,000 | £25,239,000 | £0 | 313 | 30 September 2026 |
| 31 March 2025 | £30,228,000 | £6,387,000 | £818,000 | £291,000 | £562,000 | £22,170,000 | £24,283,000 | £641,000 | £23,642,000 | £0 | 313 | 16 December 2025 |
| 31 March 2024 | £22,290,000 | £1,449,000 | £674,000 | £166,000 | £393,000 | £19,608,000 | £23,016,000 | £485,000 | £22,531,000 | £0 | 313 | 3 October 2024 |
| 31 March 2023 | £19,668,000 | £1,091,000 | £752,000 | £98,000 | £222,000 | £17,505,000 | £22,427,000 | £411,000 | £22,016,000 | £0 | 313 | 4 October 2023 |
| 31 March 2022 | £18,810,000 | £956,000 | £574,000 | £51,000 | £172,000 | £17,057,000 | £21,224,000 | £337,000 | £20,887,000 | £0 | 313 | 1 December 2022 |
Figures are those reported by the charity and supplied in the OSCR bulk download. Blank facts remain distinct from zero.
04 Contact record
Principal office or trustees address
- Address supplied to OSCR
- George IV Bridge, Edinburgh
- Website supplied to OSCR
- www.nls.uk
- Parent charity
- Not supplied
No direct external links on this profile. The official OSCR record and source documentation are available through BritDB’s dedicated source page.
05 Provenance
Source for this profile
© Crown Copyright and database right 2026. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. BritDB is an independent service and does not claim to be the Scottish Charity Register.