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You're right, they give a virtual snapshot of every household on census night. Censuses are held every ten years - the first was in 1841 - and are opened for public scrutiny when they are 100 years old. Those for 1891 and 1901 are fully indexed and digitised and may be viewed at the GROS (General Registers Office Scotland) in Edinburgh or the ScotlandsPeople pay-per-view website. The 1881 census for the whole of the UK has been indexed and transcribed by the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (Mormon) and is available widely on CD ROM.
Many of the 1841 - 1871 Census returns have been indexed by Local History Societies and there are street indexes for most towns and cities. They can be viewed in microfilm in most Scottish local and family history libraries. For more details of these facilities sorted by the Region and the ancient Scottish Counties, visit the Regions and Counties section of this site.
