Fonds consists of records relating to his career as a journalist and to his family life in Victoria. It has been arranged in two series, Autobiography and Writing. The Autobiography series consists of Archies autobiographical works, which document his service in World War I and his family life and career. It has been arranged into three sub-series: All in A Lifetime, My Life in the Army, and Travel. The Writing series consists of his published and unpublished work, and background material for it. The series shows his interest in making new generations of Victoria residents aware of their citys history and aware of World War I history. It has been arranged into two sub-series: Articles and Stories, and Broadcasts. Records include typed manuscripts, clippings of Archies published articles, photographs including photograph albums, diaries, scrapbooks, war medals, and ephemera.

Fonds consists of 6 series: correspondence, 1961-1987, primarily Earle Birney; literary manuscripts, ca. 1954-1957, including fiction and plays; research, ca. 1962-1987; printed materials, ca. 1954-1988, primarily journal offprints and copies; indices, ca. 1962-1987. The indices consist of research card groups including: animals; slang dictionaries; women in medieval medicine; medieval medical books; symbolism; The Canterbury Tales, and miscellaneous subjects.

Fonds consists of records documenting Johnson's political and business careers, including constitutions and bylaws of political organizations, trade agreements, political cartoons and clippings; business records including correspondence, daily journals, financial records and contracts; personal family correspondence and insurance records, Johnson's army diary, and records relating to Byron's father, Oliver Johnson; photographs of the Johnson family and of Johnson with his cabinet and colleagues; correspondence regarding Johnson's work with the RCAF; publications, including newsletters, magazines, journals, annual reports and copies of speeches, some of which are annotated by Johnson or contain photographs, articles or obituaries about him; records regarding the visit of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip to Victoria, October 1951, including invitations to functions and photograph album of the visit prepared by the Daily Colonist newspaper.

Fonds documents Drury's journalism career, and consists of files relating to journalism, 1943-1958; subject files, 1944-62; the Empire Press Union, 1941, 1946; and the United Nations Conference on International Organization, 1944-45.

Fonds consists of records of the Malahat Review (Issues 1 through 64) and includes typescripts of articles, short stories and poems submitted to the magazine; galley proofs, page proofs; minutes of meetings of the Malahat Review Editorial Board; general financial and administrative records relating to the magazine's founding by Robin Skelton and John Peter; correspondence of Skelton and Peter concerning submissions to the magazine, requests for submissions to special issues, the magazine's financial crisis in 1975 and appeals to subscribers for support; account books recording works submitted; photographs; press releases; newsclippings.