Correspondence, memoranda, manuscripts, documents, photographs and printed materials relating primarily to Coykendall's various involvements with Columbia University, including the Trustees, University Patents, the Columbia University Press, alumni affairs, and the searches for successors to Presidents Butler and Eisenhower. Also, material relating to his membership in the New York State Historical Association. Among the major correspondents are Nicholas Murray Butler, Marcellus Hartley Dodge, Dwight David Eisenhower, Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Mark Van Doren, and Thomas J. Watson. Also, memorabilia relating to Coykendall's association with the University and the Press.

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 V. K. Wellington Koo papers document the diplomatic legacy of Wellington Koo as a Chinese statesman and diplomat of the 20th Century. The papers primarily consist of materials collected during Koo's diplomatic career, relating to the Lytton Commission, 1932-1933; the League of Nations, 1931-1940; the United Nations, 1944-1946; his ambassadorships to France, 1932-1941; to Britain, 1941-1946; to the United States, 1946-1956; as the Senior Advisor to the Republic of China from 1956; and as the Judge on the International Court of Justice, 1957-1966. The materials include correspondence, diaries, memoranda, manuscripts, documents, notes, speeches, maps, photographs, printed material, and audio visual material. The bulk of the materials emphasizes China's domestic and foreign affairs, such as the Sino-Japanese conflict, World War II and the Cold War in the Far East region, as well as the League of Nations and the United Nations.