The Works Series benefits from the unusual care with which James Jones preserved his manuscripts, especially from the mid-1960s on. The books subseries is the major part of the series and comprises both fiction and non-fiction. The novels and are represented with plot and character notes, outlines, and, for the last three, a systematic retention of discarded pages. The effort Jones put into achieving his artistic goals in these novels is made manifest by these files.

The publication files of Jones' collected short stories, as well as the non-fiction and are also found in this subseries. All film scripts developed from Jones' novels, whether realized or not and whether by him or others are filed here with the novel upon which they were based.

Film scripts written or revised by Jones follow the major long prose works in a separate subseries. The subseries embracing his short works is subdivided into a general file of short prose and poetry from all periods and a second smaller file identified here as which he maintained during his residence in Marshall, Illinois. Cross references in the general file lead to all titles present in the file. A subseries including commonplace books, story ideas, and creative fragments completes the series.

The files before the Joneses' move to Paris in 1959 are fragmentary, apart from the extensive correspondence with James' relatives, Lowney Handy, and with Scribner's and its law firm. These materials are arranged alphabetically--by person or subject--under two broad chronological headings, 1939-56 and 1957-58. These headings correspond to the general arrangement of the files as received by the Center and also to Jones' periods of residence in Illinois and New York. The Paris and post-Paris files are extensive, emcompassing Jones' active files of ongoing professional and personal affairs including--but extending well beyond--correspondence in the narrow sense. Materials related to personal hobby and sporting interests, travel, photography, housing and housekeeping, press relations and fan interest are also present in nearly every annually-arranged file sequence. The "Notes on Archival System" (Folder 104.1) outlines the basic pattern by which these later files were created and used.

Most of the correspondence files are topically named, but some are filed under personal or corporate names. Headings that refer to legal representation include Goldstein, Judd & Gurfein; Jerome S. Morris; George Schiffer; Schwartz & Freeman; Staehelin & Giezendanner; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Jones' Paris lawyers (John P. Heinzen and René de Chambrun) are filed under Paris Lawyer(s). Jones' accountants over the years were Aaron Fuchs & Co. and Arthur Andersen; his artistic agents were Alain Bernheim, Hope Leresche & Steele, and MCA Artists, Ltd.

Jones' most extensive professional correspondence was with Charles Scribner's Sons and, later, with Delacorte/Dell, as well as with and . The Dell files for the later 1960s include his correspondence with and on behalf of young writers whose work he encouraged. His and Gloria's personal correspondence is wide-ranging and extensive, including such figures as Cecile Bazelon, Eugene Braun-Munk, Betty Comden, Beauford Delaney, Maxwell Geismar, Leslie Hannon, Paul Jenkins, Burroughs Mitchell, and Norman Rosten.

In general the files in the Correspondence Series have recurring titles giving a clear indication of contents, but there are a few that might be pointed out. In addition to the story ideas ideas found in the Works Series, there are additional ones found here in folders entitled and Likewise the correspondence generated between 1962 and 1967 to recover the original manuscript of is found in Folder 82.7. The correspondence between Jones and Herbert Ruhm relating to Ruhm's ultimately unsuccessful effort to publish a critical work on Jones is found in the correspondence of the years between 1964 and 1969.

The folders "Paris Social" contain little formal correspondence, but give an idea of the Joneses' social life during the Paris years via invitations, theatrical programs, announcements of art exhibitions, and the like. The folders initially dealt with Jones' efforts to have Sylvia Ritter Millhouse sell his house there but later became repositories of his occasional contacts with Illinois through Ms. Millhouse.

Nearly two-thirds of the series comprises the financial records kept by James Jones in the years 1964-74, but other materials related to his family history and daily life that were not part of his correspondence files are located here.

Jones' involvement in the American Center for Students and Artists is demonstrated in the drafts of correspondence and reports during the early 1970s when he served as a member of the ACSA board of directors and as chairman of a "committee to study and redefine the Center's objectives in today's world." These materials document his efforts to encourage a non-radical public image for the center in the period following the 1968 Paris riots as depicted in .

A number of early photographs of Jones and his family were given him by his aunt Mollie Haish, along with a scrapbook of 19th century clippings relating to the White and Blessing families. Other photographic materials include a considerable number of negatives of photographs taken by and of the Jones family and friends in the 1960s. In many cases no prints are available. Folder titles for these materials were assigned by the archivist and are deliberately broad.

The detailed tax records are essentially fiscal in nature but do embrace material from which biographical nuggets may be gleaned--summaries of royalties and advances from publishers, for example, or names of persons entertained by Jones at business luncheons.