The European Reading Room is the primary point of contact for researchers interested in materials from and about Slovenia. The Reading Room maintains a collection of over one hundred reference books for Slovenia, with general encyclopedias, subject encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries, language dictionaries, bibliographies, statistical data, and other reference materials. In addition, older reference materials of interest may be held in the reference collection for former Yugoslavia.

Also available in the European Reading Room are most of the Slovenian newspapers on microfilm, issues of unbound periodicals and print newspapers from Slovenia, and a pamphlet collection containing more than 100 items from former Yugoslavia. In the European Reading Room cage a number of unique materials are kept on hand due to rarity or the need for displays. Cage materials include 19th century Slovenian journal acquisitions from the Smithsonian Deposit, an issue from July 15, 1943, of Ostroški list, a rare fascist newspaper for Slovenian children during WWII, and Ciciban, an illustrated post-war journal for children. All cage materials are available upon request at the European Reading Room reference desk. Several special items available in the European Reading Room are described below.