The book holdings in Archives Research Center include first edition titles, limited printings, autographed, unique and rare or out-of-print publications. The primary focus of the collection is the African American experience.
In addition, there are significant holdings on African and Caribbean history, politics, literature, and art. The foundation of book holdings is from the Atlanta University Trevor Arnett Library Negro Collection that was established in 1925. Notable among the Negro Collection was the Countee Cullen Memorial Collection established in 1942 and the personal library of bibliophile Henry P. Slaughter purchased in 1946.
Since the establishment of the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library in 1982, additional gifts of personal libraries have been acquired including those of pan-Africanist scholar, historian, and educator John Henrik Clarke (1915-1998), known as the Clarke Africana Collection historian and civic leader Clarence Bacote (1906-1981); editor and author Hoyt Fuller (1923-1981); and educator and author C. Eric Lincoln (1924-2000).
Many of the book collections accompanied the donation of personal papers. The Library is also the repository for the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, the Spike Lee Sports Journalism Collection, the Robert Michael Franklin, Jr. Morehouse Alumni Scholars Special Reference Collection, and the Paul R. Jones Book Collection.