The Collection of Rare Books at the Film Museum dates back to 1987. At present, it comprises almost 15,000 items divided into two major sections: the Collection of Rare Books and the Research Library. The former is a basic collection that contains the following:

• memorial libraries of filmmakers Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky, Herman and Isabella Epstein, etc.

A variety of history and film studies-related topics made it possible to divide the collection into:

• Books on cinema history and theory
• Cinema equipment
• Reference materials
• Film scripts
• Film periodicals.

This collection is valuable because it represents the history of cinema development through the 1910–1940s works, that is, it grasps the events right after they happen, without any «time censorship».