The Composers category (ca. 6,800 pieces) includes pieces of native-born composers and American imprints of foreign composers. In the folder on Irving Berlin, containing about 600 pieces, there are 150 songs from Berlin’s various Music Box Reviews. There are over 200 pieces in the George M. Cohan folder, including most of his show tunes. The Stephen Foster category contains over 700 pieces, comprising some 90 different titles, including 62 first editions, over 150 various printings, three score instrumental arrangements, and the like. Jerome Kern is represented by over 350 pieces; Sousa by 150 pieces (including about 70 marches). The folder on Ethelbert Nevin (87 pieces) is indicative of Mr. Driscoll’s thoroughness; as an organist, he was interested in Nevin’s The Rosary, and managed to collect some 30 different printings of it, including the first and its variations.

The Lyricists category (ca. 2,900 pieces) includes texts by native-born poets wherever published, and American imprints of foreign poetry.

At the end of this section are two boxes of autographed sheet music. This comprises nearly 300 pieces of music each autographed, usually by the composer, and occasionally by the author or dedicatee.