There have been no new entries into the Private Case since 1990. All new erotic or pornographic material is put on open access on the general catalogue, with no restrictions on access, except for some which are in a fragile condition. As at 2023 there are about 2,500 volumes still classified by the library as being part of the collection; the library describes the Private Case as "a historical collection". In 2019 the contents of the Private Case were digitised and made available through the Gale subscription database Archives of Sexuality & Gender. Gale describes the Private Case material as "an interesting study in social ethics as the definition of obscenity evolved since the mid-19th century"; the British Library, while noting that nearly all the contents were "produced by heterosexual men for heterosexual men", describes the works as a "unique insight into historic attitudes towards gender, sexuality and obscenity".
