The Library houses an extensive and unique range of over half a million physical items related to Southeast Asia in the area of economics, politics, international relations, culture, and social studies.

Library Selects is an information alert service put together by the ISEAS Library containing links to news and blog articles covering Southeast Asia and special topics relevant to the research interest/direction/agenda of ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

The ISEAS Library is home to over 30 private papers collections, including papers of prominent individuals mainly from Singapore and Malaysia such as David Marshall, S. Rajaratnam, Tan Cheng Lock, Tan Chin Tuan and Lee Hau Shik (HS Lee). The main strength of these papers lies in the historical perspectives that they provide on the political, social and economic environment in Southeast Asia in the period between the 1940s and the 1960s.
The exhibition gallery “Yusof Ishak in Pictures: Life and Times of Singapore’s First President” highlights the lifetime achievements and contributions of Yusof Ishak, particularly his role in nation building as the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (1959-1965) and the Republic’s first President (1965-1970).
The gallery was set up by the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre (NSC) Archaeology Unit with the help of ISEAS Library. This gallery showcases some of the artifacts from various excavations in Singapore and Cambodia.