The library holdings of The Magnes include rare and illustrated books from the global Jewish diaspora, periodicals, reference and original materials about Jewish history in the American West, as well as sound recordings, music books and manuscripts.

The catalog records of these holdings strive to connect historical documents with the archival collections and the objects in the collection. Integrated database access to archive, library and museum collection records facilitates access across different descriptive standards, thus offering a wide-angled perspective on history and culture.