The Grand Rapids Public Library Art & Graphics Collection documents and summarizes the library’s two-dimensional original art, posters, plates taken from books and other types of graphics created primarily for visual communication purposes. Some later reproductions are also included. Other types of graphic materials, such as photographs or postcards, are located in their own separate collections. A few photographic series are included here, wherein these were created primarily for art and graphics purposes.

Architectural drawings, which were previously part of this collection, are now primarily described in Coll. 254, the GR Buildings Collection. However, there are some works representing buildings in this collection, and cross referenced in Coll. 254, when: -the items are primarily created as art, -when the items are more Michigan than Grand Rapids, -or when there is graphic work associated with a structure but not particularly illustrating a structure

Image items, in any physical form, are also held in other named collections within the Archives. These items are not formally part of this generic graphic collection, but may shelved physically with Coll. 224 graphics, and cross-referenced here, for advice to the user. Some additional art is owned and displayed by the Library, but not managed as part of Archival holdings. The Archives is just beginning to collect here biographical materials on Grand Rapids associated artists, which may also include published illustrations of their work.

Supplemental reference items are now also being added to this collection, such as artists' biographies or exhibit catalogs and fliers, which also illustrate and explain graphic works and/or graphic design.

A supplemental database, in development, attempts to index all holdings which are primarily 2-D art.

Included here are items that provide information through an illustrative or display medium, or that are original works of art, including portraiture, scenic or theme art, etc. The content of many of the items is also suited to other collections, by the topic or the type of materials.

In several cases, items will actually be housed with Coll. 224, but also listed in other finding aids, as appropriate. These items usually have folder labeled “224/109,” for example, or “224/245.” The second number is the official home collection, for the graphic item which is shelved with Coll. 224 graphics materials.

Certificates, calendars and other types of materials that may have a graphic nature or contain graphics as part of their content will not necessarily be included here, but might more often be found in the GRPL Ephemera Collection 216, or in other named archival collections.

Human information systems deliver data with words and images. The Grand Rapids History & Special Collections Center collects both, often used together. While the book collections and archival manuscripts typify information delivery primarily in written form, several collections are notable first for the visual information they contain. At the far side of this dichotomy is the GRPL Art & Graphics Collection, along with those segments of other collections, which contain original or copies of artists creations. These holdings are not an attempt to compete with the Grand Rapids Art Museum, for example, but usually pick up where they leave off, collecting more of the common graphics presented in day-to-day life.