Legislation from 1816 and on, jurisprudence, official reports, monographs and periodicals form the core of this collection. Since the Institute started courses on law and administration in developing countries, the library acquires material in this field, with emphasis on development administration. In 1986 the study of Islamic law was brought under the aegis of the Institute, since that time a reference and research collection on modern Islamic law was formed. Other important areas of the collection cover Egypt and Morocco, while reference collections on Southeast Asia and, recently, South Africa and China are being formed. The China collection does not include Chinese language material.
Documentation is an important responsability of the institute and the library.
The library provides literature research for a fee on request of law firms, the commercial sector and government services. Acquisition lists are compiled twice a year and made available upon request. Cataloguing is done in the national system Pica, online searching is possible via internet , Open Library Network provides entrance to the Leiden University Catalogue, in which the Vollenhoven Institute holdings may be retrieved.