The Harry Scherman Library served as the main library facility for the Mannes College of Music from 1965 to 2016, originating at Mannes’s 157 East 74th Street location, and later existing at 150 West 85th Street from 1984 to 2016. The Scherman Library, over the course of its history, stored various music-related items of ephemera which constitute this collection.

The Mannes Camerata, founded in 1981 by Paul Echols, was Mannes College of Music's early-music ensemble. It was comprised of students, faculty, and graduates of the combined undergraduate and graduate early music programs at the Mannes, which joined The New School in 1989. The collection contains scores, schedules and program notes, photographic materials, librettos, press releases, and correspondence.