Archivist Brian Smith receives distinguished service award

Published: 05 September 2022

We’re delighted that Brian Smith’s dedication to Shetland’s historical records has been recognised with a distinguished service award from the Archives & Records Association, the leading professional body for the record-keeping sector. His work as county archivist is hugely important in preserving Shetland’s history and this recognition is well deserved.

He has been the local record keeper for 46 years, starting in 1976 as the first archivist ever appointed by Shetland Islands Council.

Brian commented: “I am very grateful to the people who nominated me for the award. I’m not on social media but I have been sent some of the messages people wrote following the announcement. They have been lovely to read. There was a comment by an American student who volunteered with us many years ago and I was touched to see that.”

Brian and his team are looking forward to launching a new online catalogue of the entire archives collection – this will be a fantastic resource allowing anyone with a computer to see exactly what is available. This a huge change from the early days of manually recording entries and relying on a good memory to find what you were looking for.

Brian and his staff are known for being very generous with their time and are always happy to help with any enquiry or research project. Anyone is welcome to visit the Archives searchroom. You can drop in anytime from Tuesday to Friday. from 10am to 4.30pm. Or you can write to the Archives for help.