The scope of the Ralph Ellison Foundation collection supports the mission and aspirations of the organization in aspects to education, visual culture, its relationship to the arts and the relationship of art to culture in general. The emphasis and strength of the collection is in the acquisition and display of the contributor’s materials and the intended targeted audience. REF’s intention is to maintain a collection at an approximate size and scope to provide for present need and to support the future growth of the creative community.

It is not the goal of this foundation to keep growing indefinitely in total number of submissions, but to ensure that the collection as a whole supports the evolving community served. The collection strives to provide an appropriate level of materials sufficient for the liberal arts, including the humanities and social sciences, as well as professional development materials such as education and social justice issues expressed through art, music, and literature.