A picture collection, arranged by subject, includes both reproductions of art works and illustrations of a variety of subjects. The slide collection contains architecture, painting, sculpture and many of the applied and decorative arts. Both slides and pictures can be borrowed. The art information files feature exhibition catalogs, biographical clippings, and pamphlets. Among the significant titles in the extensive reference collection are Allgemeines Kunstler Lexicon , Art in Latin America , Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide , Grove's The Dictionary of Art , and the newest edition of Benezit's Dictionary of Artists .
Numerous resources answer questions about antiques.
The literature section specializes in literary criticism for the traditional canon, as well as for works by African-American authors. Librarians use the Black Literature File , a locally produced index to texts and criticisms of poems, short stories, and plays in the reference collection. Also of note are the over 200 books of quotations and the 2,000 poetry anthologies. The anthologies represent most of the books indexed in all the editions of the Columbia-Granger Index to Poetry. Also in the circulating and reference collections are music scores for classical, folk, jazz, opera, and popular works, as well as librettos for operas and operettas.