IJS is the largest archive of jazz and jazz related materials in the world.

Over 100 distinct ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS comprise personal papers as well as archives of record companies and jazz-related institutions and organizations spanning from 1920 to the present.

The Institute maintains over 100,000 commercial and non-commercial SOUND RECORDINGS. Two of the earliest formats, piano rolls and phonograph cylinders, are represented; but the bulk of the collection consists of 78 rpm discs, 45 rpm singles and extended-play (EP) discs, 10-inch and 12-inch LP's, and CD's. The collection spans all eras of jazz and includes blues, ragtime, and other jazz-related and jazz-influenced music.

A collection of more than 30,000 PHOTOGRAPHS taken over nine decades serve as an internationally consulted resource of images for publications and broadcast documentaries.

A collection of ORAL HISTORY MATERIALS, most notably the Jazz Oral History Project of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) which was transferred to the Institute in 1979.

The collection of some 6000 BOOKS includes practically every book published on jazz, including rare early works.

The collection of jazz PERIODICALS is the most comprehensive in the world, due in no small part to the acquisition of the Harold Flakser Collection.

The RESEARCH FILES include clippings from newspapers and general interest publication, press releases and publicity materials, and correspondence.