Holdings concern primarily folklife and ethnic groups in the United States. Among its collections is the Chicago Ethnic Arts Project Collection of 335 sound recordings, ca. 3,700 color transparencies, black and white negatives representing ca. 300 rolls of film, field notes, and other written documentation, 1977. Information came from ethnic community leaders and artists. Among the ethnic groups whose music, dancing, and crafts were examined to note the impact of urban America were Lithuanians and Ukrainians. In general, these materials and other collections generated by the work of the Center will eventually go to the appropriate custodial branches of the Library of Congress.
