The S. Edward Roos Papers date from 1928-1999 and 2009, with the bulk of materials dating between 1928-1991; incidental materials related to Roos and his career dated after his death were kept by his son. The rest of the collection consists of items created and collected by Roos over the course of his sailing career, including notebooks from his trips to Antarctica during Byrd Antarctic Expeditions I and II, a photograph album from Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, ship service records spanning his entire career, and correspondence and newsletters from fellow members of the Byrd Antarctic Expeditions. Also included are newspaper clippings about the ships he was on that survived torpedo attacks, research about other ships he had sailed on in his career, a Swedish Admiral Byrd obituary clipping, and photocopies of the Roos Papers at the United States National Archives. Finally, the collection contains Roos's medals and uniform decorations from the United States Merchant Marine, his World War II Victory Medal, Byrd Antarctic Expedition II Guernsey Cattle Club medal, cap badge and shoulder boards, and two Freemason rings. These items arrived in a military medal rolled storage pouch, with Roos's service award bars pinned to it; these bars remain attached to the pouch.

The Byrd Antarctic Expedition I Collection contains materials both from and about Byrd Expedition I, some of which date after the expedition. Materials include black and white photographs and glass slides from the expedition, artifacts from Byrd's flagship the United States Ship City of New York, commemorative medals given in recognition of the expedition, promotional material about the expedition and Byrd's tour, and a drawing of the United States Ship City of New York by the creator of Smokey the Bear. Also included are VHS videocassette and DVD copies of black and white film shot by expedition member Lawrence Gould during his time in Antarctica, with a commentary track recorded later in his life. The collection dates from 1928 to 1940 and 1980 to 2003, with the bulk of materials dated 1928 to 1930.