 The library's collection totals more than 2 million items, including books, reference materials, movies, music, and photographs.Of that total, more than 347,000 items are in specific collections including the Western History and Genealogy Department, Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, and Reference Department holdings.The library evolved from the 1878 donation of books to the city's board of education, which were then maintained in a wing of East Denver High School.