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.

Arranged alphabetically, these individual portraits of Columbia University faculty members are black and white images mounted on heavy cardboard with the name of the individual typed underneath the image. Names that begin with L-M-N-O-P and Q are missing from this collection.

This collection of various historical materials collected by the Columbia University Physics Department includes photographs and negatives of faculty members, faculty biographical information, images of related buildings and grounds, correspondence between faculty members and others, publications, information concerning guest lecturers in the department, as well as materials used in exhibitions and presentations depicting the department's history.

A collection of personal papers of Elizabeth (Betty) Blake, who was very active in both the Columbia and broader Manhattan communities, consisting primarily of correspondence, meeting agendas, minutes, and Columbia University memorabilia.

Personal and professional papers of the notable literary critic. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, notes, journals, photographs, drawings and films, and a collection of signed and annotated books and magazines from Dupee's library.

This collection consists of photographic prints (8x 10 and 11x14) and negatives (35mm and 2 ¼" square) taken by professional photographer Gabriel Amadeus Cooney for Columbia University. Many of the images were ultimately used in a brochure titled Broadway Local published in 1991 and in a series of brochures for the Campaign for Columbia produced between1996 and 1999. Some prints and negatives are in color, but most are in black and white. Many of these negatives and prints correspond directly to contact sheets and prints found in Series I of the Office of Alumni and Development Photograph Collection (UA#0208).

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 Historical Photo Collection contains images of persons, events, and activities associated with Columbia College (1754-1896) and Columbia University (1896-).

The Historical Subject Files Collection documents Columbia University history and related topics from 1754 to the present. The collection includes articles, booklets, clippings, correspondence, memoranda, non-photographic images, notes, pamphlets, posters, press releases, programs and reports.

This collection contains full transcripts and notes of lectures given by Professor Mario G. Salvadori on the humanistic aspects of technology. Salvadori delivered most of these lectures in a semester-long course "The cultural impact of engineering." Additional notes from campus lectures were added to this collection in 2018.