[4] The institute has a significant collection of books (including rare ones), manuscripts, documents, and works of art, from donations and purchases.

[6] The IEB publishes books and catalogs on fine arts, history, ethnology, rural studies, economics, literature, urbanism, and education.

[13] Among the files received are those of names such as Anita Malfatti, Aracy Abreu Amaral, Caio Prado Jr, Camargo Guarnieri, Graciliano Ramos, João Guimarães Rosa, Mário de Andrade, Milton Santos, Manuel Correia de Andrade, Lupe Cotrim, among many other Brazilian intellectuals.

[14][15] For the institute, archives and research are inseparable, and it is important both to analyze the thought or creative processes of the collection holder, and the sources stored by it.

[13][16] The IEB Library is one of the richest in Brazilian subjects, with 250,000 volumes, including books, offprints, theses, periodicals, and sheet music.