The James Thayer Gerould and Lawrence Heyl subseries consists primarily of correspondence documenting the development of special collections within the Library and the expansion of the Library staff. Most of the files originate with Gerould (University Librarian, 1920-1940); however there are also records in this series that were generated by Lawrence Heyl, who was acting librarian 1939-1940, and Julian Boyd, who transitioned into the role of University Librarian in 1940. The records contain correspondence and subject files which document a diverse range of topics. Several folders are dedicated to collections acquired by the Library during this time, while others such as that relating to collector and Princeton's first Curator of Graphic Arts Elmer Adler, (Box 3, Folder 3) hint at long-term plans. Another file, "Federal Aid to Libraries" documents the Library's attempt to engage New Deal funding in the midst of the Great Depression.

Series 1, Chairman H. D. Smyth Records, 1933-1953, contains personal and departmental papers from the tenure of Henry De Wolf Smyth, who chaired the Physics Department from 1935-1949. This series has several large groupings of files, such as applications for teaching positions and fellowships, departmental as well as confidential business, and recommendations for students and faculty. Other topics in this series include nuclear physics research in conjunction with the war effort, correspondence with faculty members, undergraduate and graduate instruction, financial records, and various committees, symposiums, and research efforts.

Miscellaneous negatives were found loose, outside of the envelopes labeled by J. Wayman Williams. Some of these negatives may have belonged with the "Activities" or "Public Relations" groups. They imclude images of laboratory equipment, maps of Princeton's main campus, cartoon tigers with a "P", Williams' Christmas greetings for 1948, a dance in front of a bandstand reading "Prince Tiger"; various groups of people, airplanes flying in formation, people at a stadium, football players posing, ice skaters in skirts, graduation ceremonies, tennis courts, and more.

Subseries 1A contains minutes of the Faculty Committee's meetings.

Series 4: September 2005 Accession of Videotapes, 1982-2000 and undated consists of recordings of television segments about Princeton, lectures, and events, as well as recordings created as part of the promotional material for fundraising campaigns.

Celebration Materials, circa 1887-1993, collects invitations, programs, mass mailings, event notices, pins, and correspondence relating to the celebration (similar materials can be found in the first scrapbook in Series 4). A typed draft of President Francis Landey Patton's sesquicentennial sermon with corrections, a photograph album of the event, and a published book of sketches from the celebration by William Silas Whitehead can be found in this series as well.

Series 1: H. Hubert Wilson Collection on the Department of Politics, 1924-1977 (bulk 1967-1977) consists primarily of published sources on topics of interest to Wilson, including the administration, finances and governance of Princeton University, the activities of the Priorities Committee, government ties and sponsored research at Princeton, ROTC, and campus politics. It also contains materials originating in Wilson's teaching at Princeton, including student papers and theses, as well as drafts of a publication titled "This Isn't Princeton".

H. Hubert Wilson was a professor in Princeton University's Department of Politics from 1943-1977. The collection consists primarily of published sources on topics of interest to Wilson, as well as materials originating in Wilson's teaching at Princeton, and drafts of a publication titled "This Isn't Princeton".

The Meeting Minutes series contains the meeting minutes of the Ladies Auxiliary. Included are annual meetings of the entire body, more frequent but less well-attended regular meetings, and executive board meetings. Each set of minutes notes the type of meeting, and contains the date of the meeting, its location, a list of attendees, and issues discussed or voted upon. Until 1915 the minutes are handwritten in bound ledgers by the Ladies Auxiliary Secretary.

The Correspondence series primarily documents Bowman's childhood and young adulthood, from his stay as a boy at a sanitarium in Kansas City for diabetes treatment through his years at Stanford and Princeton. Correspondence between Bowman and his mother, Mary Augusta Brooks Bowman, is particularly rich in part because they wrote each other almost daily and in great detail. Bowman's letters to his mother from Stanford and Princeton, in particular, are lively and quick-witted and reveal his myriad social activities, impressions of college life, and opinions on subjects of all sorts, from family matters to politics to popular films and actors. Correspondence with his father, sister, and brother can be equally revealing but does not match the sheer volume of correspondence between mother and son. Letters from Bowman's friends are also worth noting for their vivid evocations of private school and college life in the 1920s and 1930s. Bowman corresponded with several young women, including a cousin, Edith Brooks, who was traveling in the car with Bowman at the time he was killed. The young women's letters, in particular, contain a vivaciousness and convey their own and Bowman's very active social lives. Bowman also maintained a correspondence over many years with a member of the crew he met on a Cunard Lines voyage he took as a boy with his family. The crew member sent Bowman many letters and postcards from his voyages around the world.

Brooks Bowman '36 is best remembered as the composer of the songs "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" and "Love and a Dime." The Brooks Bowman Papers consist of correspondence and photographs that document his school years and his foray into the music industry. The bulk of the papers consist of Bowman's correspondence with his mother, sister, and numerous friends.