The Ned A. Ostenso Papers consists of 1,346 35mm slides, many captioned, that document Ostenso's work in Antarctica from 1956-1959, and the Arctic in 1961 and 1965. The collection also contains a biographical file for Ostenso, which dates from 1956-1997, and includes obituaries, resumes and articles.

The Martin Sponholz Papers, dated 1965-1968, are photographic slides of pictures Martin Sponholz took while he was a member of Operation Deepfreeze-66 Expedition and the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Sponholz numbered and wrote captions beneath the slides. Those numbers and captions are used in the inventory list as titles. The slides marked DF relate to the United States Antarctic Research Program’s Deepfreeze-66 Expedition at Plateau Station, dating 1965-1966. The photographs Sponholz took on this expedition feature the building of the Plateau Station and its facilities, tools and instruments used to measure wind and temperature, and Antarctica’s landscape. The slides marked J relate to the photographs Sponholz took on Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, dating 1967-1968. The photographs Sponholz took on this expedition feature meteorology equipment, Antarctica’s landscape and animals, and Syowa Base.

The Robert Dodson Papers, dated 1942-2023, contain materials that relate to Robert Dodson’s experiences as a member of the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition. Also included are some materials about the experiences of other expedition members. Major topics include dog-sled driving, camp conditions, the rescue of Harries-Clichy Peterson, and Dodson’s role testing clothing and other equipment for the United States Army Quartermaster Corps. The materials include documents, such as publications, reports, and equipment specifications, diaries, and scrapbooks of press clippings. Also included are photographic slides, photographs, and audio recordings of oral history interviews with Dodson. One of the oral history interviews is from a series of polar oral histories sponsored by the American Polar Society and Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program. Administrative information and transcripts of this interview are included in addition to the audio recording.

The Herwil M. Bryant Papers, dated circa 1930s-circa 2000s, contain materials that Herwil M. Bryant created or collected while serving on the United States Antarctic Service Expedition from 1939-1941. This includes his journals, both the handwritten originals and photocopies and typed transcriptions of the originals. Also included are photographs, negatives, and photographic slides that he created during the expedition as well as correspondence, notes, press clippings, objects, and ephemera. In addition, the papers contain notes and other materials related to lectures Bryant gave about Antarctica and his experiences during the U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition, including lectures he gave aboard Antarctic cruises. Photographs he took during Antarctic cruises are also included. There are two USB flash drives that contain digital files of Bryant’s U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition journals and photographs as well as narrations he recorded after the expedition. Also included is an unidentified reel of 16mm film.

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 Peter J. Anderson Papers, dated 1889-1995, contain research notes, publications, summaries, articles, audiovisual materials, reports, clippings, photographs, and slides, which pertain almost exclusively to Anderson's activities while a member of the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University. Included in this collection are materials related to Anderson's project, "A Chronology of the United States in Antarctica," funded by the National Science Foundation from 1984-1987. There are also research materials collected by Anderson for polar aviation and in preparation for a definitive biography of Richard E. Byrd. Philately materials collected by and given to Anderson, such as covers (envelopes) from polar regions, are included in this collection.

The Lisle A. Rose Papers, dated 1947-2014, contains photographs, diaries, oral history interviews and transcripts, periodicals, slides, a yearbook, reports and correspondence primarily regarding Rose's participation in Operation Deep Freeze II and his role as Polar Affairs officer for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs (OES). Correspondence includes a letter from Rose's brother Dave dated January 1947, to Rose's parents, while Dave was on Operation Highjump. The collection also includes Deep Freeze II stamps and envelopes as well as photocopies of other polar explorers' papers.

The Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Iota Chapter Records date from 1925 to 2010, and contain scrapbooks, photograph albums, photographs, slides, administrative records, and several awards. Administrative records consist of meeting minutes, membership records, fraternity officers' notebooks, and alumni rosters.

The Emanuel D. Rudolph Papers contain course materials, clippings, correspondence, articles, microfilm, subject files, and slides related to the Polar Regions. It also contains Antarctic research data notebooks and records, photographs, maps, microclimate charts, and negatives.

The Henry Brecher Papers, dated 1958-2007, contains photographic slides, photograph prints, notes, and reports documenting Henry Brecher's field work in Antarctica, Greenland, Canada, Peru, China and Tanzania. Captions are written on the slides. Brecher's diary and reports documents his work with Operation Deep Freeze V and the Victoria Land Traverse, which was the first American traverse to the South Pole from 1959-1960. Maps of mountains and regions in Antartica and digital reproductions of the slide images are included in this collection. Also included is an oral history interview on audiocassette of Brecher conducted in 1999 with a transcript; in it, he discusses how he became involved in Antarctic expeditions, as well as memories of the South Pole Traverse he participated in. Finally, the collection contains topographic maps and orthophotic maps of a landslide on Sherman Glacier, Alaska; Brecher plotted these maps for use by Cedomir Marangunic in his dissertation.

The Philip M. Smith Papers, dated circa 1898-1935 and 1954-2013, contains photographs, slides, postal covers, publications, reports, newspaper clippings, treaties, artifacts, certificates and maps, which document Smith's career in administration of research in the Polar Regions, as well as his own fieldwork. Some of the artifacts and framed prints contain materials such as paintings and signs that predate Smith's career and relate to polar explorers, including British explorers, and to landscapes.

The Robert W. Gerdel Papers, dating 1925-1986, contains 35mm slides, photographs, artifacts, logs, publications, dissertation and reports about Gerdel's research in crop and cold regions science. The collection documents Gerdel's work in and observations of cold region bases and environments in the northern hemisphere including Greenland, Canada, Alaska, the KFS (Keweenaw Field Station) in Michigan, the New York University wind tunnels, and the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory.