Collection consists of city directories, which since 1875, have made up of two parts: an alphabetic listing of people’s last names giving their occupation and home address and of street names. The directories may also contain advertisements of local area businesses and brief facts on population and average household income. Earlier directories included communities other than Guelph such as Erin, Peel, Minto and Puslinch Townships.

The directories are arranged chronologically by year.