The papers consist of two series: PERSONAL PAPERS and SCRIPTS.
The small amount of PERSONAL PAPERS contains incoming and outgoing correspondence, poetry, fan mail, invitations and cards, a Bundles for Britain scrapbook, teaching materials, and articles on the Voice of America. The incoming correspondence includes letters as well as some articles, and is arranged alphabetically. The remainder of the series is arranged chronologically with undated items at the end. The outgoing correspondence contains a few letters from White, and a few memos to staff of Voice of America, including Peter Straus. In addition, there is a speech written for Florence Eldridge March on Women in the Arts. The poetry file contains pieces White wrote while overseas in the 1930s. A separate folder contains letters and poetry between White and her husband, Paul White. The message of most of the fan mail is that the writers liked her program or they enjoyed being interviewed by her. The invitations and cards are for prestigious occasions such as the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt or receptions for many African dignitaries. The Bundles for Britain scrapbook includes clippings about the organization, 1941-1942. The teaching materials consist of her lecture notes, assignments from pupils, and articles on radio criticism. Lastly, the articles about Voice of America from the 1970's focus on VOA's reorganization and accusations that it was a propaganda tool.
The SCRIPTS series forms the bulk of the collection. Some of the scripts are rough drafts, and others are studio copies. Merlin the Storyteller, Eyewitness and Let's Meet the Ladies comprise most of the scripts although not all scripts from these series are accounted for.
Scripts for Voice of America are arranged chronologically, with the undated scripts at the end. The first serial program White wrote was Operation Escape (1952-1953), a cold war series from personal reports of people who had fled from behind the Iron or Bamboo Curtains. The next series, Eyewitness, documented the evils of communism as related in books and articles from that time. The Billy Brown (1953-1954) series revolves around a real person who started a worldwide pen-pal exchange. A Woman's View (1954-1955) was an informative account of the American scene that White wrote and narrated. Merlin the Storyteller was a long running series of fairy-tales and folk tales from all over the world. Included with this material is a folder of correspondence from Japan and Rhodesia asking permission to use and translate the series. Also in this folder is documentation of the Ohio State Award for Educational Radio-Television Broadcasting in the Children and Youth category.
The Age of the Atom scripts contain dialogues on peaceful uses of atomic energy. The Heroes of America series showed the lives of American men and women who contributed to the growth of America. The series Let's Meet the Ladies is the most voluminous in the collection. There are hundreds of scripts and some folders of suggested lists of women to interview and articles or other research material about them. White interviewed women from all walks of life including business, politics, charities, and the arts. The last Voice of America series she wrote was Blacks in American History. There are only five scripts and little research fot this title.
The second segment of scripts contains the war documentaries. These are arranged chronologically, with undated scripts at the end. Most of these were written for ABC, although there are some from other stations.
The final set of scripts are those that do not fit into any particular category and represent a range of genres, including soaps and mysteries. These are arranged alphabetically by series title, with the date and broadcasting station indicated. While most have several examples of scripts and include notes, some are single scripts without notes.
Also included in the collection are tape recordings of some of her programs, and photographs. The tape recordings are listed under the program title. Photographs include images of Bundles for Britain activities, White in a flight suit while working on Cavalcade of America, and the wedding reception of her friend Kay McCormack to Justice Minister of Ethiopia Tesfaye Gebre-Egzy.
