The collection consists of books and pamphlets formerly in the Library of the Communist Party of Great Britain, being acquired for the University of Sheffield Library circa 1994. Some of these were at one time the personal property of N.J. Klugmann and bear his signature. Other volumes are stamped or labelled as the property of the Library of the Communist Party of Great Britain. The majority of the items relate to trials (often what are sometimes termed "show trials"), related matters such as espionage and treason, and other political events in, though not exclusively in, Eastern Europe during the 20th century, such as the uprising in Hungary in 1956. There are also a smaller number of items on other political questions of a more general nature.

For further details of this collection please see the listing in the External Documents section below.