The Cornell Papers were donated and organized in two parts, the original collection donated in 2001 and Additions donated in 2006.
The original collection covers only 1974-1978, the period of time during which he served in the U.S. Congress. It consists of the following subseries: Bill Files, Subject Files, Legislative Files, Robo Files, and Grants Files.
The BILL FILES subseries contains documents related to bills sponsored by Representative Cornell and to bills generating correspondence to or from Cornell. This includes bill information, whip advisory reports, and letters from interest groups, colleagues, and constituents asking for support or opposition to bills. Files are arranged chronologically by year, Congressional session, and bill number.
The SUBJECT FILES subseries consists of correspondence relating to general political issues, both national and local, addressed by Cornell and his constituents, arranged alphabetically by subject.
The LEGISLATIVE FILES subseries includes correspondence between Cornell and his constituents relating to specific bills under consideration by the House of Representatives, arranged alphabetically by bill issue.
The ROBO FILES subseries consists of standardized responses to constituent letters generated by a computer word processing program. Topics covered are similar to those addressed in the subject files. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject of correspondence.
The GRANTS FILES subseries consists of files, arranged by county or location, containing correspondence related to grants from the federal government for programs such as local building projects, conservation efforts, student funding, disaster relief, and resource development.
The 2006 Additions date from 1966 to 2004 with the bulk of the material covering the period from 1974 to 1978, the years in which Cornell served in Congress. The additions consist of the following subseries: Congressional Files, Subject Files, Post-Congressional Files, and Scrapbooks.
The CONGRESSIONAL FILES subseries contain Cornell's personal voting records and legislative profile, as well as the general voting records of Congress dating from his time in office. In addition, there are press releases and correspondence primarily from 1975 to 1978 with some correspondence, primarily correspondence between Cornell and other house members, dating to 1986.
The SUBJECT FILES subseries contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and congressional reports relating to general political issues, with an emphasis on legislative reforms, both nationally and locally. The bulk of the files date from 1948 to 1978 and are arranged alphabetically by subject.
The POST-CONGRESSIONAL FILES subseries consists of Cornell's letters to the editor and press releases dating from 1979 to 1995. Subject matter within the files covers a wide variety of local and national political issues such as taxes, social security, and the national deficit.
The SCRAPBOOKS subseries consists of newspaper clippings from 1966 to 2004 documenting Cornell's political activities before, during, and after his congressional career. The series also contains clippings that document general local and national political issues with which Cornell was actively involved with, particularly issues such as the church and politics, tax reform, federal funding and health security.
