The Department of Chemistry at Princeton University dates back to the early days of the College of New Jersey, and today it is one of the University's largest undergraduate concentrations. The collection contains examinations and grade books, records pertaining to chemistry research performed at the department in support of the U.S. Manhattan project and departmental records.

H. Alexander Smith served as the executive secretary of Princeton University and was later elected to the United States Senate representing New Jersey. Smith made contributions to United States foreign policy while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bulk of documentation focuses on his tenure in the Senate and the period immediately after his retirement; reports, correspondence, and printed material from his work at Princeton are also included. The papers contain diaries, correspondence, speeches, notes, photographs, and memorabilia.

Since 1935 Princeton University's Department of Music has offered courses in composition, music history, and related areas to students at the graduate and undergraduate level. The records of the Department of Music document the department's wide range of activities including teaching, research, curriculum development, and the planning of music-related programs on campus.

Frank W. Notestein contributed significantly to the science of demography and to a better understanding of population problems in world affairs. The Frank W. Notestein Papers contain correspondence, speeches, and writings documenting the research, ideas, career and leadership roles of this former Princeton professor, director of the Office of Population Research, and president of the Population Council.

This collection provides the most basic source of information about Princeton University's governing body. In addition to minutes of the Trustees' meetings, the collection contains related papers and reports, organized according to purpose.

The Thomas Baird Papers consists of the working and personal papers, primarily manuscripts, of the American educator and author Thomas Baird (1923-1990). Also included, and related to both his published and unpublished works, are idea files, notes, writing journals, correspondence with his publishers and editors, and reviews. Furthermore, the collection contains the following materials that encompass Baird's adult life: talks, addresses, and lectures; general, family and travel correspondence; diaries; personal journals; interviews; documents; photographs and audio recordings.

G. Edward Pendray was an early proponent of rocket power and space flight and co-founder Pendray and Company, a prominent public relations firm. The G. Edward Pendray Papers consist of correspondence, notes, memoranda, drafts, reports, photographs, and printed material related to Pendray's career in public relations and his life-long interest and involvement in aeronautics and astronautics.

The Nathaniel Burt Papers contain materials related to the works of novelist Nathaniel Burt (Princeton Class of 1936), such as Leopards in the Garden (1968), Palaces for the People (1977), The Perennial Philadelphians (1963), and Scotland's Burning (1953), as well as personal correspondence and financial papers about the Burt family property.

Livingston T. Merchant was a diplomat and high-ranking government official. This collection consists of Merchant's papers, including correspondence, articles, notes, speeches, statements, interviews, clippings, printed matter, and personal papers.

The Freedom House Records document the organization's activities in advocating freedom and democracy throughout the world. The records provide an invaluable insight into an organization that evolved from an answer to Hitler's Braunhaus to a diligent monitor of freedom worldwide.