Consists of research material, notes, outlines, drafts, galleys, and proofs. Yellow legal notepads contain notes, early draft material, and inserts for later typed and printed versions. Notepads are identified by their first lines, though a single notepad may contain a variety of material, including material relating to other works, correspondence drafts, and other unrelated notes. Corrected typescript and printout drafts often show significant revisions. Material from various stages of the publication process is present, including setting copies with copy-editor's and typesetter's marks, galleys, page proofs, F (folded-and-gathered pages, in signatures but not yet bound), blueline proofs ("confirmation blues"), advance copies (bound uncorrected proofs, pre-publication, often used for book reviewers) and production/design material with page and dust-jacket samples. Page numbers are noted for paginated material.

Printed materials including various editions and translations of Toni Morrison's published books, books, manuscripts, and academic papers by other authors, and published scores and libretti.