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 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.