Its relevance is augmented by the archives of rare non-official research materials; an Oral History Project to record the reminiscences of the makers of modern India and the NMML's Centre for Contemporary Studies, which awards Fellowships for exploring new areas and issues of research in social sciences. Over the last four decades, scholars on modern and contemporary history have found the institution almost indispensable for carrying out their research.

The Library has succeeded in acquiring the back volumes of several important newspapers and periodicals (694KB)  which are valuable sources for the study of modern India. The Library has a rich collection of material on microfilms and microfiche. It includes more than 18,719 microfilm rolls of private papers, missionary records, newspapers and old and rare journals and 51,322 microfiche plates of research materials. The Reprography Division of the institution has contributed substantially to augment these research resources, which are increasingly drawn upon by scholars.

The holdings of the Library cover a wide range of subjects and aspects related to modern and contemporary history, roughly covering the period from the eighteenth century onwards up to the present times. The collections are enormous and diverse ranging from books, journals, photographs, periodicals, newspapers, private papers and oral history records. Currently, the Library maintains a collection of more than 300 thousand printed books and over 200 thousand photographs related to Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian freedom movement. Regular purchase of printed material and donations by various individuals and institutions help NMML update and expand the holdings of its Library.

Journals and periodicals are housed in a separate Periodicals Section within the Library, which currently maintains a collection of 383 journals in English, Hindi and other regional languages.

The Photo Division of the Library housed within the Library, possesses an impressive collection of photographs of the freedom movement in India and national leaders of the pre and post independence periods. This collection currently stands around 2,23,000 photographs and negatives of another 100 thousand images. Apart from being utilized for different exhibitions held in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, the photographs are being used increasingly by newspapers, authors, publishers and various government and non-official agencies for multiple purposes including exhibitions, documentaries and television programmes.