A thorough inventory of research resources in American repositories, the Guide lists collections in the history of chemistry and chemical engineering, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and a number of related chemical process industries and businesses, from personal and professional papers of chemical scientists and engineers to business records of the chemical process industries.

"There are 1,366 collections described in this guide. Collections range in size from a single letter or document to over fifty record storage cartons of material. Guide entries in Part I are arranged by 'record group' number, from 300 to 1307 (the first 299 numbers have been assigned to other collections housed by the Department of History). Guide entries in Part II are arranged alphabetically and numbered from B001 to B358. ... The index located at the back of the Guide is really the key to the whole work. The index lists all collections in both Parts I and II" -- Introd.