The Walter K. Queen Papers contain correspondence, photographs, records, artifacts, and ephemera created or collected by Walter K. Queen that mostly document his experience during the Byrd Antarctic Expedition II (BAE II). The bulk of the papers consist of correspondence, which includes letters, telegrams, and radiograms sent and received by Queen. Much of the correspondence was to and from Queen's wife and daughters during BAE II as well as to and from Richard E. Byrd during and after BAE II. The photographs were mostly taken during BAE II and are images of Antarctica and the ships used during the expedition. Also included are records and messages to Queen that relate to his role as chief engineer aboard the S.S. Jacob Ruppert during BAE II and the refitting the Bear of Oakland in 1939 for the United States Antarctic Service Expedition. The artifacts include uniform pieces, glass bottles from Byrd expeditions, and two nails taken from the Bear of Oakland. Also included are three pocket Bibles, an address book, and an autograph book owned by Queen during BAE II. Ephemera, programs, and other materials related to events from after BAE II are also included. Materials are dated from 1900-1981, with the bulk of the materials dated from 1933-1939. The materials from after Queen's death were received and collected by the Queen family and relate to Queen's experiences in Antarctica during BAE II.

The Robert Reed "With Byrd in Little America" Project for Grade 7B Social Studies Class is a booklet created by Reed for a school project, circa 1943. The booklet contains a 3-page essay titled "With Byrd in Little America," a pencil drawn map of the Little America base, and black-and-white photographs of the research station depicting men, dogs, sleds, supplies and gear, a plane, aerial photographs, and pilot Bernt Bachen.

The Robert E. Donahue Papers date from circa 1909 to the 1920s, and consist of photographs, glass slides, and a diary created by Donahue while he documented the Arctic expedition for Admiral Richard E. Byrd's 1926 North Pole Flight for Pathe News. Also included is a scrapbook documenting the flight, a shipboard satirical newsletter written by Donahue and fellow cameraman Willard Van der Veer during the Arctic expedition called "Seas All - Nose Nothing," and photographs of explorer Robert E. Peary and other unidentified people.

The Myron Shaffner Good Photo Album contains a photo album created by Good and dated circa 1920. The album contains black and white photographs, mainly of Ohio State University campus. Photographs include campus buildings, Mirror Lake, the Oval, and student military cadets.

The Karl Weyprecht Collection consists of materials about Karl Weyprecht, his discovery and exploration of Franz Josef Land, and his contributions to Arctic exploration. The materials are dated 1892, 1932, and 2006. This collection contains an etching of Karl Weyprecht and other explorers overlooking Franz Josef Land. It is not known who created the etching. This collection also contains a newspaper article titled “Out to Solve the Mystery of Aurora.” The article celebrates the beginning of the Second International Polar Year (1932-1933) and gives an overview of Karl Weyprecht’s contributions to Arctic exploration and the creation of the First International Polar Year (1882-1883). A photograph reproduction of Karl Weyprecht and his family is also included in this collection.

The Jonathan Duff Reed Papers consist of materials related to the 1926 Byrd Arctic Expedition and first Byrd Antarctic Expedition (BAE I, 1928-1930), including letters of recommendation sent to Admiral Richard E. Byrd on behalf of Reed, portraits of Reed in his expedition gear, photographs taken by Reed during the expeditions, and the Kodak camera he used, equipped with a fast lens for the snow. Also included are newspaper clippings about the expeditions, as well as Byrd's obituaries. Reed's certificate from the United States Navy appointing him as midshipman, his honorable discharge certificate from the United States Army, and a certificate authorizing him to man a lifeboat from the United States Department of Commerce are included. Materials are dated circa 1910-1930, and 1950-1965.

The Jean A. Simoneau Papers, which dates from 1941-1947, contains photographs, postal covers, newspaper clippings, periodicals, a diary log, a certificate and a portrait that relate to his experience during Operation Highjump, 1946-1947.

The Edward Goodale Papers date from 1956 to 1988, and contains materials collected by Goodale that relate to his multiple trips to Antarctica, as well as general interest materials on Antarctica. These materials include a memory book created for those who served on the U.S.S. Glacier in 1955-1956, four portraits of United States Navy admirals, group photographs of Goodale and unknown others, several issues of a newsletter for participants of Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, Ike's Travels (which discusses notable historic trips to Antarctica), and newspaper clippings about both Goodale's trips to Antarctica and trips made by other scientists.

The Donald Walk Papers contain materials Walk collected while serving in the United States Navy in Antarctica during the United States' Operation Deep Freeze 61. These materials include 35mm slides, photographs, magnetic audio tapes of recordings Walk sent to his family while on assignment, 8mm film, administrative reports, clippings, medical research, correspondence, and Antarctic clothing and equipment documenting Walk's experience as a psychiatrist and administrator. The collection also contains clippings and other publications that Walk collected after his assignment was completed, and digitized copies of most of the collection materials on DVDs and compact discs. The collection is dated 1945-1969 and circa 2006-2008.

The Daniel Talpas Papers contains materials collected by Talpas before, during, and after his time aboard the U.S.S. Philippine Sea, including a numbered photograph set of the Operation Highjump expedition, and nearly complete runs of the newsletters produced by the ship's crew, including the "Philippine Sea Line" and "Penguin Special." The collection contains general commemorative items available to the crew (stationary, matchbooks, publications), as well as items specific to Talpas, including his Ancient Order of the Deep summons and certificate, and photographs he personally took. The collection also includes Talpas' Plank Owner certificate for the U.S.S. Philippine Sea, as well as a few articles from magazines about the ship and Operation Highjump. Materials date primarily from the time immediately before, during, and after the expedition in 1946-1947, and one article about Admiral Byrd and Operation Highjump dates from 1954.

The Charles Passel Papers, dated 1937-1953, 1971-2004, and 2012, contains notes, correspondence, photograph slides, and black and white photographs from Passel’s time with the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939-1941). Journal articles written by geologists and polar scientists, and a copy of the research paper Passel wrote with Paul Siple, another scientist on United States Antarctic Service Expedition, are also included in this collection. This collection also contains VHS videocassettes recordings of speaking engagements where Passel spoke about his experiences in Antarctica, as well as an oral history interview on audiocassette where he discussed his time on the United States Antarctic Service Expedition. The original VHS videocassettes were created between 1996 and 2004. DVD copies of the VHS videocassettes were created in 2012.

The Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Collection contains materials both from and about Byrd's North Pole Flight on May 9, 1926, some of which date before or after the flight. The collection contains black and white photographs by an unknown photographer of Admiral Byrd, Floyd Bennett, and unidentified expedition members preparing for the flight, as well as a painting of the airplane used for the flight, and programs for events honoring Byrd and celebrating the flight; these materials date from circa 1926 May to after 1926 June. Also included are two 1995 photocopies of essays regarding the validity of the flight. One is by Epaminondas "Pete" Demas, one of Byrd's expedition members who remained on the ground in Spitsbergen, Norway, and was written in 1975. The other essay is by Bernt Balchen and written circa 1960s; while he was not a member of Byrd's expedition, Balchen was also on the ground in Spitsbergen, Norway at the time as a part of the ground crew for Roald Amundsen's May 12, 1926 flight over the North Pole in the dirigible Norge.