The Foyle Special Collections Library houses some 170,000 printed works, as well as maps, slides, sound recordings and manuscript material. Its collections, built up over centuries by purchase, gift and bequest, contain many unique items and cover all subject areas, but they are particularly strong in:

• European military and diplomatic history
• Jewish and Christian theology
• The history of the British Empire
• The history of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean
• Medicine
• Science
• 20th century Germany
• Voyages and travels