Non Solus, Volumes 1-10, include articles on the English collection at Illinois. Various exhibit catalogues available in the Rare Book and Special Collections Library describe materials used in special collection exhibits. English is the dominant language of the collection. Materials in Western Europe languages are also collected in varying degrees of intensity. Materials in Slavic and Eastern European languages and materials in Asian and Middle Eastern languages are collected only in cooperation with the Slavic and Eastern European Library and the Asian Library, respectively.
Emphasis is on scholarly treatment rather than popularization, textbooks, and children's literature.
The Undergraduate Library normally collects more popular treatments and the Education and Social Sciences Library collects children's literature for its School Collection. The English Library and the Modern Languages and Linguistics Library both collect works on critical theory and literary aesthetics, so duplication of materials in these libraries is inevitable and usually desirable. The Undergraduate Library's literature collection is a strong complement to the English Library, with special emphasis placed on critical works as well as on popular fiction. The Illini Union Browsing Room also collects works of popular literature. The Communications Library collects stylebooks and handbooks on writing technique which augment similar material acquired by the English Library.