In English literature all major and many minor 19th century authors are comprehensively represented. The collection is especially strong in the works of Dickens, Scott, Trollope, Thackeray, Firbank, and Conrad. A number of women authors are represented, including Austen, Oliphant, and George Eliot. The holdings of minor authors are outstanding and are an area of continuing growth. The modern authors collections include not only all of the major canonical authors, but also over 300 contemporary writers publishing in mainstream houses and a number of experimental writers.
Contemporary literature is collected along with retrospective titles.
In American literature the works of African-American, women, and New York authors are particularly well represented. In addition to the Fales American literature holdings, the Adkins Collection of American Literature , which is listed in the card catalog, is rich in minor works by American authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The general rare book collection consists of about 10,000 volumes covering the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. These materials are accessible through the card catalog or BobCat. The Berol collection is one of the largest collections of materials relating to Lewis Carroll.