# Media Library Access read-only collections of the user’s multimedia content. ## Overview The Media Library framework provides a read-only Objective-C data model representing a user’s collections of images, audio, and video. The initial access point of the Media Library framework is [`MLMediaLibrary`](/documentation/MediaLibrary/MLMediaLibrary), which loads the user’s media into a hierarchical structure consisting of media sources, groups, and objects. At the highest level, all content within a media library instance is categorized by media source. Conceptually, a media source respresents a single app, such as iTunes or Aperture. Each source contains a hierarchy of media groups that originates from a root group. These groups consist of media objects—individual files containing a piece of media such as a photo, song, or movie. Only one copy of each object exists within a media library instance, but an object can be referenced by multiple groups from a single source. The structure of the group hierarchy is specific to each media source.  ## Topics ### Classes [`MLMediaGroup`](/documentation/MediaLibrary/MLMediaGroup) The `MLMediaGroup` class provides groupings for media objects from a single source of media, such as iTunes or Aperture. The media objects—individual files containing a piece of media such as a photo, song, or movie—are referenced by one or more groups within each media source. These groupings serve as filters, providing hierarchical structure to the collection of objects in each source. [`MLMediaLibrary`](/documentation/MediaLibrary/MLMediaLibrary) The `MLMediaLibrary` class provides an interface for accessing a collection of media objects from various sources. It serves as the initial access point of the Media Library framework. [`MLMediaObject`](/documentation/MediaLibrary/MLMediaObject) The `MLMediaObject` class describes a single media file, such as a photo, song, or movie. Each media object contains basic metadata including a name, media type, URL, and so on. Additional information about each object is stored in its list of attributes. For a list of possible object attribute keys, see [Media Object Attribute Keys](/documentation/MediaLibrary/media-object-attribute-keys). [`MLMediaSource`](/documentation/MediaLibrary/MLMediaSource) The `MLMediaSource` class identifies a specific provider of media. Conceptually, a media source respresents a single app, such as iTunes or Aperture. Each media source contains multiple groups of media objects—individual files containing a piece of media such as a photo, song, or movie. ### Reference [MediaLibrary Constants](/documentation/MediaLibrary/medialibrary-constants) --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)