The collection chiefly consists of Goldenweiser's American legal case files. There are also case files from his German years, and substantial materials on his research into the condition of Russian refugees and refugee problems in general in the 1930s. Much of the correspondence from the late 1930s and early 1940s concerns Jews in Germany and occupied Europe. Correspondents in the collection include Mark Aldanov, Abraham Cahan, Antal Dorati, Georgiĭ Florovskiĭ, Tatʹi︠a︡na Frank, Vladimir and Vera Nabokov, and Mikhail Karpovich; there are 1 or 2 items each from Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eleanor Roosevelt, Herbert Lehman, and Nikolaĭ Losskiĭ. Letters, manuscripts, and documents by Vera Nabokova contain considerable information on her and her husband's lives in Germany and in the United States. Many of the American case files concern (as does much of the Nabokova material) individual claims for reparations from Germany after World War II.

The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, memoirs, notes, lectures, subject files, documents, diplomas and awards, and printed materials. Cataloged correspondents include Dmytro Chyzhevsʹkyĭ and Nikolaĭ Losskiĭ. Most of the correspondence concerns scientific topics and Novikov's publications in emigration. Manuscripts are primarily by Novikov on biological topics. There are also manuscripts by various persons, including Nikolaĭ Losskiĭ and Mikhail Karpovich (1956), and "Dvukhsotletie Moskovskogo Universiteta," edited by Novikov. Memoirs include a manuscript of Novikov's "Ot Moskvy do Nʹi︠u︡ Ĭorka," (published in 1952). Lectures are on biological topics. Subject files deal in part with the celebration in the West of the Bicentennial of Moscow University, Radio Liberty broadcasts and UNRRA University in Munich. Printed materials include copies of publications by Novikov.