The collection is principally monographic. Serials are collected on a highly limited basis. Our collecting assumes a heavy use of interlibrary loan for research purposes, where we rely greatly on institutions such as the University of Illinois at Urbana. English-language Russian literary criticism is collected in great part through the Blackwell North America approval plan, which covers major scholarly publishers and university presses. Exceptions include G.K. Hall, Slavica, Ardis, some overseas distributors and minor publishers.
Gifts contribute to the collection on a sporadic basis.