The collection documents the history of the YWCA of Albany, which was founded in 1888 by a group of women led by Mrs. Acors Rathbun in order to provide housing and recreational activities for young women searching for work. Through the years, the organization expanded to include classes, childcare, athletics, essay contests, teen issue programs, and an annual awards dinner honoring women. Strengths include the extensive photographic material and meeting minutes from the board of trustees and directors. The collection is weakest at the beginning and end of the YWCA of Albany's existence.

Formal portrait of Alfred C. Fuller of the Fuller Brush Company, by noted photographer Yousuf Karsh.

The Yu Feng Tse papers (于鳳至檔案) document her family life and that of her spouse, the Young Marshall Zhang Xueliang, who was under house arrest since 1937, first in mainland China and later in Taiwan until he was free in 1992. The materials primarily consist of correspondence, writings, printed materials, photographs, as well as memorabilia, dating from 1928 to 2011, with its bulk dating from 1943 to 1996. The materials show the relationship between Yu Feng Tse who was in the United States and Zhang Xueliang who was in Taiwan at the time.

Letters, diaries, albums, photographs, and printed material.

The collection consists of a carbon copy and a photocopy of essays entitled"O politicheskoĭ napravlennosti i soderzhanii antibolśhevistskoĭ propagandy v svi︠a︡zi s sovremennym polozheniem kresti︠́a︡n v SSSR", and "Rost khlebnogo proizvodstva v kolkhozakh stepnykh i lesostepnykh raĭonov evropeĭskoĭ chasti SSSR." There is also a brief summary, in English, of the latter essay by one Joseph A. Baclawski.

The collection contains approximately 1300 scores, half of which bear markings entered by Mikhashoff or his colleagues in preparation for performance. The collection includes manuscripts and print publications, both originals and reproductions.

The collection contains 249 cassettes featuring performances either by Mikhashoff or of his music, 801 non-commercial cassettes and 115 commercially-released cassettes that do not contain performances or works by Mikhashoff.

The collection contains 155 reel to reel tapes featuring performances either by Mikhashoff or of his music, 31 reels that do not contain performances or works by Mikhashoff, and 19 reels containing tape parts to accompany performances. Five LP sound recordings and nine compact discs are also included in the collection.

The collection contains photocopies of musical scores for 127 tangos for solo piano from 127 composers. The collection also documents the process by which Mikhashoff commissioned and performed the tangos. It includes correspondence, Mikhashoff's research into the history of the tango, and performance materials (i.e. programs and reviews). Composers commissioned for this project include Milton Babbitt, Lukas Foss, Otto Luening, Conlon Nancarrow, Luis de Pablo,and Nils Vigeland.

The collection contains thirty-one video and eight audio recordings on video cassettes, most with Yvar Mikhashoff present as performer. One video title is missing, represented only by photocopied leaves of the container.