The U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection consists of almost 1.2 million original 35 mm and 2 1/4 inch negatives (primarily black & white) and 45,000 contact sheets (negatives contact printed onto photographic paper, multiple images to a page) donated by the U.S. News & World Report, Inc. The collection depicts local, national, and international news topics, with particular emphasis on Washington, D.C., and the United States.

U.S. News & World Report, Inc., began publication of its magazine in 1948 in headquarters based in Washington, D.C. The collection primarily contains photographs taken by staff of the U.S. News & World Report Magazine between 1952 and 1986. (For the most part, images purchased by the magazine for one-time use were not donated to the Library.)

Among the principal staff photographers were: Warren K. Leffler (hired mid-1950s), Thomas J. O'Halloran (hired 1952), and Marion S. Trikosko (hired 1957). These photographers were primarily responsible for assignments in the Washington, D.C., region but also went on some special assignments outside the area. Foreign correspondents served as photographers when covering most international news topics and news topics in other parts of the country.