Fonds consists of textual records that were created by the City of Sydney, including city reports, meeting minutes, correspondence, town histories, police reports, and legal documents. Included within the fonds are materials that provide information about Black Nova Scotians living within the city, including voting records, education reports, and town histories.

Fonds consists of the personal materials of Paul MacEwan, founder and leader of the Cape Breton Labour Party from 1982-1987 and former member of the Nova Scotia Legislature for Cape Breton Nova from 1970-2003. Included is correspondence, subjects files concerning healthcare and agriculture, press releases, and papers related to the New Democratic Party and Cape Breton Labour Party.

Fonds consists of a wide variety of materials collected or created by Dr. Greg MacLeod, mostly written documents, but also videos and cassette tapes, many of which have been digitized. The written documents cover a wide range of genres such as correspondence, memos, financial reports, updates, feasibility studies, newspaper clippings, and minutes of meetings. These records have a date range beginning in the 1950's when Dr. MacLeod was in school in Sydney Mines (though there is one family document from 1899) and ending around 2004. The range of materials found here derives from his association with a number of organizations starting in the early 1970's, many of which he played a founding influence, such as Metropolitan Alliance For Development, Cape Breton School of Crafts, Island Housing Association, and the Cape Breton Association for Co Op Development, which itself would morph into New Dawn Enterprises. His social-economic interests continued with his involvement in the Tompkins Institute from its founding in 1974 and his close association with the university's Centre for Community Economic Development from its founding in 1986. Another large set of documents involves the founding of BCA Group in 1989 and its progress, and the various projects that were supported by it. Based on these associations, the fonds is arranged with the following series: Tompkins Institute; BCA Group; Centre for Community Economic Development, Audio Files, Video Files, New Dawn Enterprises, Economic Reports and Studies, and Autobiographical Materials. Each of these series (and some contain sub-series) will be composed of multiple files (some files with multiple folios) with each file containing many individual items.

Fonds consists of photographs, maps, correspondence, and textual records related to John Bernard Croak and his military service.

Fonds consists of James D. Day's certificate of military service, 1914-1923.

Fonds consists of a speech that was delivered by Mary Belle MacNeil concerning her nursing career, with particular attention to her time spent nursing during war years.

Fonds consists of a notebook kept by Hill while completing training for the Canadian Engineers unit.

Fonds consists of papers organized in two sections, those of Francis Stevens' family and his own material. It includes three of Stevens' diaries written during World War 1.

Fonds consists of the writings of Weldon Patton, a selection of newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, family genealogy and two case books from his medical practice, concerning men who had served in World War 1 and were seeking medical proof of disability

Fonds consists of a poem written by Charles MacLean titled "Do You Remember?"