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.

Miner's correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts, manuscript and typescript notes, and printed materials relating to the history of Columbia University. Interfiled with Miner's papers are the correspondence, manuscripts, and notes of Columbia librarian Roger Howson (1882-1962) who had been writing a history of the University at the time of his retirement in 1948. Howson and Miner's correspondence is chiefly with Columbia University administrators, faculty, staff, and alumni and deals entirely with the history of the university. The two major Columbia correspondents are Provost Frank D. Fackenthal and Secretary Philip M. Hayden. There are manuscript and typescript drafts of chapters and parts of chapters by Howson and Miner, but neither's history was ever completed or published. These drafts along with the related correspondence, notes, and typescript copies of original manuscripts from Columbia's archives and manuscript collections are filed together under the appropriate headings in the Name and Subject Files. In addition there are two partially completed typescript drafts of each history.

This collection contains the recorded minutes from the different faculty meetings: from the representative University Council to the individual schools (Columbia College, Engineering, Journalism, Law, etc.). Faculty meeting minutes include information on admissions, the academic calendar, curricular changes, faculty appointments and leaves, student petitions, fellowships, grants, prizes, and graduation requirements among other topics. Unfortunately, this collection is not complete. Additional minutes can be found in the record collections of the different faculties. For example, there is complete set of the minutes of the Faculty of Columbia College in the Columbia College records. Similarly, the minutes of the Seth Low Junior College and the minutes for the New York School of Social Work can be found in their respective collections.

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.

Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, notes, notecards, journals, diaries, photographs, slides, memorabilia and printed materials documenting Goodrich's career in the field of Chinese language and history, as well as materials on the cultural affairs of twentieth century China. Among the cataloged correspondence are Joseph Alsop, Pearl S. Buck, Norman Cousins, Philip C. Jessup, H.H. Kung, Owen Lattimore, and Nathan Pusey. Part of the collection is arranged in Goodrich's alphabetical subject/name file and the remainder is arranged alphabetically. The correspondence is from colleagues, students, business associates, friends, etc. The subject files are on a variety of topics concerning China, the Far East, printing, medicine, the arts, and technology; material on the Chinese Civil Service Examination; associations, schools, foundations, missions and their work in the Far East.

The records consist mainly of correspondence and material on issues related to academics, appointments, budgets, departments, faculty, planning, programs, schools, and students. The records also include reports, statistical information, and committee and meeting materials.

Correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts, conference papers, scientific drawings, photographs, and printed material. This collection consists chiefly of Halford's manuscripts and typescripts of his writings for scientific journals and papers presented at various conferences and symposiums with related correspondence of colleagues. Also included are files on the teaching of chemistry with reference to practices at Columbia, photographs of his spectrometers, a copy of his patent for Recording Spectrometers, and a file relating to his participation in a 1959 panel discussion on the future of education sponsored by the Barnard College and Columbia Alumni Clubs of Chicago. The printed material includes reprints and accompanying bibliography of Halford's writings. Also, a photograph taken by Jack Aeby at the test site of the atomic bomb, Alamogordo, N.M., 16 July 1945 has been added to the collection.