The AFI Archive collects and preserves the heritage of the American Film Institute, filmmakers and the art of motion pictures. Housed in the Louis B. Mayer Library, the Archive comprises over 50 years of rare and unique materials from across the history of cinema and television.

Included in the AFI Archive are papers of filmmakers and films, oral history interviews, and audio and video recordings that document prominent motion picture industry figures and films. The Manuscript Collections encompass personal and film production papers, which include unpublished scripts, storyboards, oral histories, scrapbooks, correspondence, manuals, newsletters, production materials, photographs, props, ephemera, among other artifacts. The AFI Photo Collection is comprised of print and digital images documenting the history of AFI. The Audio & Video Collection is composed of recordings of Conservatory seminars and events, oral histories and interviews with individuals across all aspects of filmmaking. In addition to these collections, the AFI Archive also serves as a repository for films produced at the AFI Conservatory and the AFI Directing Workshop for Women (DWW).