Central Files is composed chiefly of correspondence sent and received between Columbia University administrators and other University officers, faculty, and trustees, as well as correspondence sent and received between University administrators and individuals and organizations from outside the university.

Manuscripts of essays and course notes taken while a student at Amherst College, 1884-1889, and at Berlin University, 1892-1894. Articles, addresses, essays, lectures, lecture notes and reading notes. Also included are diaries for the years 1936-1940 and correspondence concerning Amherst College, Columbia University, and Woodbridge's stay as a visiting scholar in Berlin, 1931-1932. Among his correspondents are: Frederick S. Allis, Secretary of the Amherst Board of Trustees; Stanley King, President of Amherst; and Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia. Some photographs are also included.

The materials that comprise the Historical Biographical Files have been collected and added to from a variety of sources over the years by current and previous staff. The files consist of materials related to people who have a connection to the University whether as student, alumni, administrator, faculty, staff, guest lecturer, or honorary degree recipient. Materials generally consist of newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, programs, ephemera, printed matter, lists, reports, and pamphlets.

The correspondence, research, and teaching files of French-American cultural historian and Columbia University professor emeritus Jacques Barzun (1907-2012).