Subjects addressed in the correspondence include the publication of Carlson's articles and studies, employment possibilities as a university librarian, involvement in the Pacific Northwest Library Association Reorganization Committee, sabbatical leave plans, and Carlson's receipt of a Carnegie Fellowship Award. Carlson's research and lecture notes were generated in the course of formulating articles, speeches, books, and courses in library science which were taught in the summer of 1938 at the University of California at Berkeley. Class notes from Carlson's graduate course work in library science are also included in this series. The reports and studies pertain to institutional and university library resources and services. Carlson was involved as a researcher, author, and consultant in these reports. This series also includes completed surveys and informational materials assembled in the process of research.
The speeches delivered by Carlson to library schools, library association conferences, and local fraternal clubs and churches cover the subjects of library management, religion, and books. Series V contains draft copies and reprints of Carlson's articles and book reviews published in journals, magazines, and an encyclopedia. The subject of these articles primarily relate to library subjects and Scandinavian studies. This series also includes reprints of articles collected by Carlson that mostly pertain to library topics such as international libraries, library special collections, and the library profession. The publications consist of library staff newsletters, library journals, magazines, annual reports, book collection guides, and conference proceedings, and relate to various library topics, Scandinavian studies, and U. S. History.
The pamphlet materials and brochures relate primarily to university libraries, including dedications of new library buildings, university library handbooks/guides, and brochures for library furniture. The two book drafts are: In a Grand and Awful Time: Essays from the Librarian's Desk on 20th Century Man and His Books and The Library of OSU: Its Origins, Management, and Growth. A Centennial History. The book, The Development and Financial Support of Seven Northwestern and Western State University Libraries, was the product of a study Carlson conducted and submitted to the University of California School of Librarianship and which was funded in part by a American Library Association Carnegie Fellowship. The newspaper clippings pertain to Carlson and his post at the OSU Library, dedications of other university libraries, the University of California Berkeley student free-speech movement, and state legislation relating to correctional facilities. The photographs, primarily B&W prints and color slides, depict the Dodgen family and other friends/relatives, the OSU Library and other university and public libraries, and Carlson in portrait shots.
An addition to the Carlson Papers (Accession 2008:067) is made up of two sets of floor plans that reflect Carlson's involvement in the planning of the OSU Library expansion that added two floors to the building in 1971. Both plans depict the Library at the University of Montana, with one of the sets machine copied and the other hand drawn in pencil. Both sets contain annotations and markings made by Carlson.