There is no single Yiddish collection in the YIVO Library. But the 40,000 Yiddish-language titles comprise the largest collection of Yiddish books in the world.

The Vilna Collection is the core collection of the YIVO Library. It is the surviving remnant of YIVO's prewar library in Vilna and also contains many books from the world-famous Strashun Library.

The YIVO Library holds the private library of Yiddish writer Chaim Grade, as well as the libraries of other writers and scholars.

The YIVO Library is especially strong in resources for studying the Holocaust.

Memorial books from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe in the YIVO Library.

There are over 100 Yiddish dictionaries in the YIVO Library.

The YIVO Library has an important collection of books in Ladino, the language of Sephardic Jews.