Fonds consists of sixteen series: university employment; 1977-1996; university teaching, 1974-1988; grant applications, 1980-1995; publications, 1975-1997; conference papers, 1978-1991; presentations, 1980-1997; unpublished papers, 1975-1995; Gertrude Richardson research, 1985-1996; Leicester Peace Society research, 1992-1993; women's movement, 1983-1996; peace movement, 1986-1997; miscellaneous correspondence, 1979-1998; family correspondence, 1987-1997; illness and death, 1998; photographs, 1986-1993, and Canadian women peace activists oral history interviews, 1987-1989.
The university employment series includes curricula vitae, job applications, and self evaluation files which document Roberts employment history and her publications and committee work, etc. The university teaching series includes course outlines, take home exams, and student handouts which shed light on her approach to teaching. The grant applications and publications series together provide an overview of the range and direction of Roberts' research interests. While most of the series are based on record type, the Gertrude Richardson research and Leicester Peace Society Research series are arranged by subject and contain correspondence and grant applications; the Gertrude Richardson Research series also contains conference papers. The Women's movement and Peace movement series both contain correspondence, although some correspondence pertaining to them will be found in the miscellaneous and family correspondence series. While the miscellaneous and family correspondence series consist almost entirely of inward correspondence, both contain a few printouts of e-mail correspondence or letters from Roberts which shed light on her daily life and research projects. The Canadian Women Peace Activists series contains interviews about and with Canadian women who were peace activists before 1960.