The library seeks to support research and instruction in the area of design and environmental analysis. The multi-disciplinary department uses research to inspire innovative design, including not only the interior built environment, but also the strategic planning of complex work, education, health, and residential facilities. The major areas of focus are design history, theory and criticism; design leadership; health and well being; special populations; sustainable and regenerative design; and workplace strategies.

The collection is used by faculty, staff and students of the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis. Other constituencies include a variety of disciplines such as Psychology, Art, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Human Development, Business, and City and Regional Planning. The associated Graduate Field of Design and Environmental Analysis encompasses all aspects of design and environmental analysis on Cornell's Ithaca campus.

Overall, the collecting goal for Design and Environmental Analysis is to provide materials suitable for dissertation-level research and undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education and research. The following topics are collected at this research level: interior design, facility planning and management, human/environment relations, ergonomics, and housing. Within housing, the emphasis is on affordability in housing, health and safety of housing environments, and housing options for the elderly and the disabled, specifically how the physical environment facilitates competence and well-being.

International materials are of most interest in the areas of facility management, environment, and behavior.

Current. Older literature of design history is also collected.

The following areas are not collected: catalogs of furnishings and interiors.

Broadly, design and environmental analysis emphasize scholarly communication through academic and specialized journals. Trade monographs and serials, textbooks, and relevant regulations and standards are also collected.

Mann Library's Special Collections hold materials that are too rare, valuable or fragile to be housed in the regular stacks. ECommons serves as a repository for data files compiled by Cornell researchers.