The Library's collections consist of about 230,000 items in the fields of Finnish literature, literary studies, cultural research, and other fields of the humanities. The Library has access to a variety of Finnish and international electronic resources.

All library acquisitions since 1992 and a substantial part of earlier material have been catalogued in Helka, Union Catalogue Database of Helsinki University libraries. A card catalogue with records for older material can be found in the Lending Office.

The literary studies collections contain

• Finnish literature written in Finnish, Swedish and Saami
• translations of Finnish literature into foreign languages
• studies in Finnish literature
• biographies of Finnish authors
• a selection of literary periodicals and Finnish cultural journals.

Finnish literature printed in 1950 or after, and Finnish literary studies printed in or after 1900 and foreign literary studies printed in or after 1970 are placed at open access shelves. Older material, and the collections of Finnish translations of foreign literature and of literature in other fields of the humanities, are located in closed stacks. Orders for this material should be made at the Lending Office, where the requested material is delivered twice a day.

The collections of cultural research

• folkloristics
• cultural and social anthropology
• religious studies
• ethnomusicology and
• ethnology; and the department holds
• an extensive collection of series and periodicals

The material on cultural research is to be found mainly at the open access shelves. Finnish books printed before 1900, and foreign books printed before 1970 are located in closed stacks. Orders for the material in closed stacks should be made at the Lending Office, where the requested material is delivered twice a day.