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William Manchester (1922-2004) was a noted author of eighteen books and dozens of articles. His first book, Disturber of the Peace, was a biography of H.L. Mencken published in 1951. Manchester wrote three novels during the 1950s, after which he published A Rockefeller Family Portrait in 1959, based on a series of magazine articles on John D. Rockefeller and the two generations that followed him. Manchester wrote one more novel before returning to non-fiction in 1962 with Portrait of a President, a study of John F. Kennedy. Manchester suddenly rose to national prominence in 1964 when Jacqueline Kennedy selected him to write the authorized account of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Robert F. Kennedy was also closely associated with the project. Two years later, Mrs. Kennedy sued Manchester to prevent its publication, setting off a controversy that played out on the front pages of newspapers around the world. Following a settlement, The Death of a President was published in 1967. With his reputation established, Manchester steadily published works of non-fiction: The Arms of Krupp (1968) chronicled the German munitions family; The Glory and the Dream (1974) provided an analysis of American history, 1932-1973; Controversy and Other Essays in Journalism (1976) included Manchester's own account of the Death controversy; American Caesar (1978) profiled Gen. Douglas McArthur; Goodbye, Darkness (1980) was Manchester's memoir of his World War II Pacific combat experiences; The Last Lion (1983 and 1988), a two-volume biography of Winston Churchill; and A World Lit Only By Fire (1992), an overview of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Manchester was associated with Wesleyan University for more than 40 years, first as an editor for American Education Publications (the publisher of My Weekly Reader and other periodicals formerly owned by the University) starting in 1955, and later as a writer-in-residence and adjunct professor.

The papers consist of correspondence, writings, printed material, photographs, audiovisual material, and personal papers that document the life and work of playwright, editor, and activist Ron Whyte (circa 1942-1989). The largest series, Writings, includes drafts and circulating versions of dozens of works of drama and prose by Ron Whyte, including many unproduced plays. The documentation of Whyte's writings also includes material from his time as a student, spanning from high school to graduate study at the Yale School of Drama and the Union Theological Seminary. The papers also include a substantial quantity of audio recordings of dramatic works written or produced by Whyte. Other material, including subject files and unsorted papers, documents the varied and prolific career of Whyte, including his advocacy for people with disabilities.

The papers contain correspondence, reports, and printed material relating to Bernard Bloch's editorship of Language, his directorship of Japanese training programs at Yale during World War II, and other professional activities.

The papers include correspondence, course materials, writings, and photographs documenting Arthur William Galston's career as a plant physiologist and a professor at Yale University. The papers highlight Galston's concern over the ecological harm done by herbicides and his efforts to end the use of Agent Orange, which was sprayed as a defoliant in Vietnam by the United States military. The papers also document Galston's visit to the People's Republic of China in 1971.

The papers document the activities of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions and provide valuable information on various aspects of American religious life during the period 1886-1964. Religious conditions on American college and university campuses are documented. Vast files of student volunteer application, information and health examination blanks provide personal data on thousands of prospective missionaries which is of potential interest to genealogists, biographers and historians. The financial records and correspondence provide documentation related to philanthropic support of religious causes in America. The Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was an organization that sought to recruit college and university students in the United States for missionary service abroad. It also publicized and encouraged the missionary enterprise in general.

The Joseph Bruchac Papers contain correspondence with family, publishers, and storytelling and literary colleagues; drafts of writings, on paper and computer disks; materials concerning writing workshops taught by Bruchac in prisons; writings of others, including Native American authors; and subject files, photographs, audiocassettes, and videocassettes, many relating to storytelling performances at festivals and schools, or to Native American storytelling and literary organizations, including Returning the Gift Native American writers conferences, 1990s, and the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers & Storytellers, 1990s-2000s. Research strengths include Bruchac's writings and storytelling; teaching of Abenaki and other Native American cultures; 20th-century Native American literature, children's literature, and literary organizations; and 20th-century American small presses.

The Nina Berberova Papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, personal papers, memorabilia, and printed materials. The correspondence consists of personal letters from such famous Russian emigre writers and artists as Georgii Adamovich, Ivan Bunin, Zinaida Gippius, Roman Gul', Georgii Ivanov,Aleksandr Kuprin, Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Vladimir Nabokov, Aleksei Remizov, Gleb Struve, Marina TSvetaeva, Boris and Vera Zaitsev. There are 67 letters and 9 cards from Vladislav Khodasevich to Berberova, written during the 1920s and 1930s. There is also a voluminous correspondence with scholars of Russian literature.The writings consist of holographs, typescripts, and research notes or publication material for most of Berberova's major books and shorter writings. Material from her years in the United States (1950-1993) predominates. Her autobiography, Kursiv Moi, and her biography of Moura Budberg, Zheleznaia Zhenshchina, are extensively documented. Also present in the collection are Berberova's diaries from 1960 through 1993, family photographs from the 1910s and 1920s as well as snapshots of Berberova with a number of contemporaries and friends, personal effects belonging to Khodasevich, tapes of radio and television interviews, and an audio tape of Berberova reading selections of her own poetry. The Vladislav Khodasevich Papers consists of a portion of Khodasevich's correspondence and writings preserved by Berberova. There are some notes, clippings, and ephemera that were separated from the printed componenet of the papers, as well as some annotated printed materials.

The records of Michael Ginsberg Books includes financial records, catalogs, catalog cards, and appraisal records. Financial records consist of accounts, invoices, ledgers, receipts, checks, and statements. Catalogs include both inventory catalogs and lists of recent aquisitions from Michael Ginsberg Books as well as catalogs from other rare book dealers. Catalog cards record inventory items, the bulk of which are numbered sequentially. Appraisal records include notes, correspondence, and other papers related to appraisals conducted by Michael Ginsberg.

Papers and related material documenting Peter Palmquist's roles as a collector and historian of photography, as well as a photographer, 1952-2003. Material includes correspondence, writings, research files, printed material, photographs, audiovisual material, and electronic files.