You can visit the Registrars in Aberdeen (and in other places!) to look at the records, though it's not quite the same service as at the Scotland's People Centre as there is someone there with you. It's £20 per hour (a nationally agreed amount, not one picked by the local councils) and you can view records which are within the closure periods.
Changed days. In the 1980s I spent many a happy hour in the strong room of Elgin Registrar's office, the basements of Banff and Keith Registrars' offices, and the main room of Aberdeen Registrar's office, working my way unsupervised through the registration books stored there, all free of charge. And I didn't need an appointment either.
