The Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers are dated 1839-2014, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1925-1970. The collection contains correspondence, publications and other printed materials, expeditionary records, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, maps and charts, artifacts, audio and video recordings and motion picture films. Audio recordings include photograph records, audiocassettes, and magnetic tapes, and video recordings include U-matic, Betacam, and VHS videocassettes and DVDs. Films include 16 and 35mm film and negative film reels and strips. Most of the material in the collection is contained in Series 1, Byrd Personal Papers, and Series 2, Expeditionary Records.
Collection topics include Byrd's personal and public life, his expeditions in the Arctic (The Donald MacMillan Expedition and Byrd's North Pole flight), Antarctica (Byrd Antarctic Expedition I and II, United States Antarctic Service Expedition, Operation Highjump, and Operation Deep Freeze), and his Trans-Atlantic flight from New York to France. The Byrd Antarctic Expeditions (BAE I and II) are the most documented overall within the collection, while the Donald MacMillan Expedition, the Trans-Atlantic flight, and Operation Highjump contain the least amount of material. Expedition records deal with the logistics of personnel, communications, finance, diet, nutrition, and equipment. The collection also includes materials on the publicity and media reports created by or about Byrd during or after his expeditions. Finally, while the collection primarily focuses on Byrd, it also includes materials from his family, especially his son Richard "Dickie" E. Byrd Jr. Some materials in the collection about Byrd or his family were created prior to Byrd’s birth in 1888, or following his death in 1957.