This collection contains correspondence, drafts of papers, the manuscript of an unpublished book, and photographs. Osterhout's interest in the electrophysiology of plants is documented, as well as his professional career at the University of California, Berkeley; Harvard University; and the Rockefeller Institute.

In addition to extensive correspondence, there are numerous laboratory notes, lecture notes, drafts of published papers, reports. This material documents Long's career, with much on his work with diabetes, including the International Diabetes Federation. His 1950 trip to Japan as an advisor to Japanese medical schools on medical education is also documented. In addition, there is substantial material on the Yale University Department of Physiology and the School of Medicine.