The Archives of Oland and Son Limited consists of records created by Oland and Son Limited and its affiliated companies. Some of the companies changed names after Oland and Son sold its brewing assets to John Labatt Limited. Records for these companies are included as well. Records range from 1867 to 1989, but were predominiately created between 1950 and 1971.

The Archives of Oland and Son and Affiliated Companies include a wide variety of materials, including administrative records, financial records, correspondence, photographs, advertising and marketing materials, beer production files, sales records, and legal documents. Administrative records typically include meeting minutes, annual reports, memorandums, surveys, and studies or reports on various aspects of the brewing industry and the breweries operated by Oland and Son. Beer production files typically include brewing books, yeast log books, fermentation schedules, production reports, and other records that document the beer production process. The Archives contains a large amount of correspondence between Oland and Son and its affiliated companies and various businesses, government agencies, associations, and individuals from across the Maritimes and around the world. Financial records typically include financial statements, cost reports, comparative statements, general ledgers, valuations, audit reports, and other records documenting the financial position of the various companies. Extensive advertising and marketing files exist, including advertising contracts and schedules, proofs and sketchs, reports and proposals, and budgets. The Archives also has extensive sales records documenting the sale of beer across the Maritimes, Quebec, and parts of the United States and the Caribbean. The Archives also contains hundreds of photographs and blueprints of the factories, factory equipment, and the Bluenose II.

Materials are in English, French, German, and Czech. See individual Series descriptions for detailed scope and content notes.

Fonds consists of various personal records, including correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, slides, negatives, an artifact, and legal and financial records. Some business records from Oland and Son Limited and its affiliated companies are also included.

Fonds consists of records relating to Renton's personal life as well as his acting and teaching careers. The personal papers include files on specific actors, athletics, clippings and publications, festivals and workshops, financial records, Portus Theatre Productions (the production company he founded), school-related theatrical education materials, committee work, unions, associations, and a variety of other subjects. Correspondence includes letters to, from, and about Renton and are primarily theatre-related. The scripts were accumulated by Renton throughout his career as an actor, director, and producer. The fonds also includes photographs and slides of numerous theatrical productions.

Collection contains photographs of Dalhousie Univesity theatre students in various productions of the Theatre Department.

Fonds consists of records resulting from several projects and areas of research, including an employment trends survey for the information services professions; Public Policing in Nova Scotia; The Restructuration of the Faroese Economy; the crisis of the North Atlantic fisheries and the impact of fishing quotas on the fishing industry; and the Marginal Work World Project. Included in these records are correspondence, surveys, committee notes, interview notes, annual reports by committees and police departments, officer information sheets from various police departments, operation manuals, photographs, audio cassettes, newspaper clippings, and project papers.

The fonds consists of records related to Richard Perkyns' research undertaken in writing The Neptune Story: Twenty-Five Years in the Life of a Leading Canadian Theatre and editing Major Plays of the Canadian Theatre 1934-1984 . The fonds also includes a copy of his doctoral thesis, The Impact of the Expressionists Movements on British and American Drama and Theatre Practice (1968) and records which pertain to his involvement with the Halifax Independent Theatre. Records include correspondence, minutes from meetings, research notes, drafts, newspaper clippings, reviews, manuscripts, photographs, and interviews recorded on audio cassettes. The fonds has been arranged in four series: The Neptune Story, Major Plays of the Canadian Theatre, Doctoral Thesis, and Halifax Independent Theatre.

The fonds contains photographs of singers and musical groups, theatrical paraphernelia, and documents regarding the construction of Ward's home on Beaufort Avenue in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as other printed material.