In addition to over 1,600 instruments, the Miller Collection contains enormous library holdings, about 10,000 pieces of music and 3,000 books, some being editions not known to exist elsewhere. The Library materials also include many diverse documents such as patents in nearly all wind instrument categories, letters, portraits, photographs, bills, concert programs, extensive personal correspondence, articles, news clippings, and trade catalogs from nearly every wind instrument manufacturer who was active during Miller's lifetime. Almost all feature representations of a flutist or player of pipes. The instruments include flutes and other wind instruments from nearly all cultures of the world. They date from about 1100 bc to the 1970s and range from toys and simple folk instruments to sophisticated and complex mechanical specimens intended for professional use.
Materials range from clay, bone, and bamboo to jade, ivory, and gold.
At least 460 European and American makers are represented. The Miller Collection is also very strong in Native American instruments. The fourth collection received at the Library was a presentation in 1960 from King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. Each of the sq u and sq duang has a lacquered wooden case with blue plush lining, and the ching, thon, and rammana all share a fifth such case. Three violins from a collection of seven Cremonese stringed instruments in the Music Division.