The continuously accruing scientific collection of the Humanities Collection serves research in humanities in particular. The Humanities Collection comprises Finnish and international literature in humanities. Main topics include history, especially history of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and early modern age, and art studies, especially literature, visual arts and music, and philosophy.
With regard to its oldest parts, the collection is the most extensive multidisciplinary collection of international literature. The Humanities Collection contains source and scientific literature from the year 1600 on. Several private collections have incorporated in it at various times and it also includes deposit copies from Russia written in Western languages. Moreover, the collection contains literature of law and social sciences, medicine and natural sciences.
In addition to books and periodicals, the collection contains Finnish and international dissertations, maps, illustrated work and ephemera as well as newspapers in original and microfilm formats.