The records are not uniformly representative of the various activities of the department over the period 1883-1988. The earliest records, most of which date from before the turn of the century, are largely field notebooks from geological surveys (the bulk of which were kept by George Huntington Williams), catalogs of mineral specimens, and a few student records; there are few records dealing with administrative or curricular matters from the early period. The more recent records are more representative of the wide scope of departmental activities, with the post-1960 period being best represented. Types of records include correspondence, course materials, notices, memoranda between faculty and administrators, reports, and student and faculty records.