Accreditation reports submitted to both the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and to the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) provide a tremendous amount of insight into Art Center's curriculum, financial health, and administrative policies. Both draft and final versions of self studies detail such information as enrollment statistics, curriculum development, finances, education and experience of the faculty, and campus facilities (including the Library). In addition, reports filed by the accrediting agencies after site visits are also illuminating. The bulk of the material relates directly to Art Center, but two items are more general: an accreditation report which assesses its influences on universities and colleges in the West by Keith Warner for WASC (1977), and a directory of National Schools of Art (1978).

The Adams family papers consist mainly of photographs of Art Center School in the early 1950s, especially of students and faculty in classroom settings. Also included are some personal photos of Tink and Virginia's 1951 wedding, their Silverlake home, and Tink with his bonsai. Most of the faculty in the Art Center photos have been identified by Virginia Adams. Of interest are the photographs of Japanese exchange students through the JETRO program, including Kenji Ekuan. Three oversized photographs are housed separately.

Adams's correspondence concerns design work he was hired to do, mainly for Sloan's Liniment package and counter display. Virginia's correspondence consists of materials sent to her as a member of Art Center's Board of Trustees. The magazine advertisements are a varied collection torn out of magazines from the early part of the 20th century. The reminiscences about Tink's house, written by his daughter, discuss the purchase and renovation of his Silverlake home.

The plaque (box 5) was presented to Adams by Japanese designers and reads: "In appreciation of Edward A. Adams' continuous interest to educate and help Japanese designers, some of whom have enrolled in the Art Center School to become leaders in the development of design in Japan. 1965" Below the inscription is a list of names that includes some Art Center alumni.

This collection consists of files and printed materials created by the Admissions department from the 1930s through 2007. The bulk of the collection is statistic reports on incoming students.

The Administrative Files of Series 1 include form letters used by the department. In addition to Admission Statistics reports in Series 2, there are statistics on enrollment, grades and inquiries by prospective students. The restricted Portfolio Review Logs in Series 3 list all the prospective students by the date they brought their portfolios in to be reviewed, and whether or not they were accepted.

The Printed Materials in Series 4 are mainly handouts to prospective students, including brochures and “View”, which is geared toward high school students. Series 5 consists of general recruitment posters. The 2006 posters feature artwork by alumni Calef Brown (ILLU 1988) and Ann Elliot Cutting (PHOT 1987).

The Advertising Department photographs in this collection begin in the late 1940s. Images of classroom critiques and mock agency presentations from the mid-1950s-1960s make up the bulk of the collection. The most commonly pictured faculty in the images are Department Chair Harvey Thompson and instructor James Jordan. There are also images of students working on their advertising designs, many of which are hand-illustrated.

Examples of Student Work are primarily from the 1950s and 1960s, with early images including the student posed with their completed project. Overall changes in how advertising has been conveyed from the 1950s through the 1980s are well-documented; the earlier designs are nearly exclusively hand illustrated, while later advertisements (from about 1965 onward) almost all include photographs in the layout.

This small collections contains mostly Advertising Department brochures and newsletters.

The Allen K. Saiget photographs are digital prints of a 1947 dinner party held for Art Center Photography Department faculty and students at Allen and Wayne Saiget's parents' house.

Audiotapes of Art Center's 1980 alumni reunion called "The Big Weekend."

This collection consists of records from the Alumni office, from when it began as the independent Society of Art Center Alumni (SACA) in 1960 to the school-run Art Center Alumni Association (ACCDAA) in the 1980s, and the current Alumni Relations. Series 1 (Administrative Files) contains early bylaws and minutes from the origin of the office. The minutes provide a detailed look into the concerns and projects of the association before it stopped charging membership dues, and only document one year after the change to the ACCDAA. Chronological files maintained by the association secretary are mostly meeting agendas, although some correspondence with members is included. This series also includes recent announcements made by the Office.

Series 2 (Directories) consists of printed alumni directories from the early 1960s to the mid-1990s. Series 3 (Events) contains printed invitations and brochures for the annual meetings and reunions, receptions, and workshops. The annual meeting brochures show images from the previous meeting, most of which are in the Photograph archives. Series 4 (Exhibitions) contains mostly exhibition books and announcements from the annual exhibit organized by the Society of Art Center Alumni. Series 5 (Fundraising) outlines the fundraising efforts made by the Office. It is possible that alumni fundraising records will appear in the Development collection, as they have managed fundraising efforts for many years. Series 6 (Membership and Outreach) show some of the materials given to alumni in order to create an alumni network. Series 7 contains the various alumni newsletters and publications published by Art Center over the years. Series 8 contains records on some of the projects created by the Alumni office. Series 9 (CD-ROMs) contains published CD-ROMs of alumni work.

Posters designed by April Greiman, spanning her career.

This collection consists of documents, such as award certificates given to Archetype Press, project planning records, and open house invitations. There are some examples of student work, notably pages from an unpublished project of Robert Bly poems.

Some publications prior to 1989 are not technically from the Archetype Press, but are still included here, as precursors to similar projects that would eventually be produced by the Press and that department.

A large portion of this collection consists of administrative records related to the Ellwood building, Design Research Complex, and South Campus. Materials include meeting agendas and minutes, timelines, reports, and planning documents. Dana Hutt was included in many of the planning meetings for the Sinclaire Pavilion, South Campus and the Design Research Complex, and documents reflect her involvement.

Another large component of this collection consists of research. Dana Hutt did research on the Ellwood building at the Art Center Archives and Cal Poly Pomona Archives. Other research about the Ellwood building includes original documents from Peter Blake, who was an architect and close friend to Ellwood. The records include correspondence to Ellwood and his family, articles related to Ellwood, and an obituary on Ellwood by Blake. These records were given to Dana Hutt by Peter Blake for her research and to be kept by Art Center. At the time of her research on the Ellwood building, she was preparing to write a book on the history of the building. Research from Caltech related to the Wind Tunnel is also included in the collection.

Finally, the collection contains planning documents related to the L.A. Now book project, that Dana Hutt worked on with Richard Koshalek.

The Art Center (Europe) photograph collection contains images of the building and grounds, faculty, staff, students, events, classroom environments, and student work.

The Art Center (Europe) collection documents campus administration and student activities throughout the school’s ten year history. The bulk of the collection is correspondence and administrative files which document the creation, operation and closure of the school. The Accreditation files in Series 1 are the reports related to accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). The Administrative Files in Series 2 also contain files on establishing a European campus. Series 3 includes general information about Admissions, including the course catalogs. The few files in the Alumni series list the school's graduates and track their employment. The remodeling and construction phase of the school is well documented in the Buildings/Facilities files in Series 5. The chronological files in Series 6 include correspondence, reports, memos, and clippings regarding classes, students, and recruiting. The files in Series 7 consist mainly of ephemera related to graduation ceremonies. Series 8 contains various materials printed by the school including brochures and letterhead. Public Relations materials in Series 9 document Art Center (Europe)’s media presence through the clippings and media summaries. The five Publications in Series 10 were published by Art Center (Europe) and contain news, profiles and updates on the school and its students. Series 11 houses 14 student-designed t-shirts that were made for graduations and conferences.

This collection is an amalgamation of materials created by staff and faculty at both Art Center and Art Center (Europe). The files from Art Center (Europe) were sent to Art Center after the closure of the school.

This collection consists of various publications, mainly magazines and newsletters, published by Art Center College of Design.