Collecting areas include

Administrative records
Business records, regardless of media or format, which are created, received, or maintained by museum staff in the course of official business, are collected and managed according to the McNay’s records retention schedule. The retention schedule identifies record groups generated by each department and recommends time periods by which inactive records are either disposed of or transferred to the permanent archival collection.

McNay publications
Imprints of the McNay, including annual reports, exhibition catalogues, newsletters, gallery guides, pamphlets, flyers, invitations, announcements, and other materials that record institutional events and programs are collected.

Catalogs of visiting exhibitions
Exhibition catalogs accompanying traveling exhibitions are acquired for the archival collection.

Images
The image collection includes early photographs of Mrs. McNay and life at Sunset Hills, as well as photos of the buildings, grounds, people, and events, taken throughout the Museum’s history. The collection grows chiefly through individual donations, though reproductions may be acquired from other repositories. Images of present-day museum events are also sought, and may be submitted in photographic or digital form.

Papers and records of Marion Koogler McNay
In addition to a small collection of correspondence, photographs, and other items related to Mrs. McNay’s life, this archive contains financial records, property records, business correspondence, and other documents generated by the McNay estate during her time.

Papers and records of affiliated persons and organizations
Central to this group of records are the papers of John Palmer Leeper, the museum’s first director, and the business records of the San Antonio Art Institute. Proposed additions to this collection are evaluated case-by-case.