Special collections contain unique or rare material with a shared subject gathered by a common creator or group of creators. These unique or rare materials can include correspondence, notebooks, diaries, financial ledgers, scrapbooks, newspaper or magazine clippings, photographs, negatives, printed or handwritten music, programs, scripts, publicity material, and artwork.

Collections with materials relevant to theater research are housed across multiple Library of Congress divisions, although most of them are housed in the Music Division and Manuscript Division. Use the navigation menu to the left to explore these collections.