The correspondence includes two personal letters addressed to "Dorothy" and "Dorothea" that Adams possibly wrote to Dorothy Richardson, a Mount Holyoke College graduate (Class of 1924) and teacher of zoology. The letters were written while Adams was on a cruise near Antigua and visiting Venezuela. They describle events during her trip. Also included is a personal letter, 1926, written to Adams by Ann Haven Morgan who was a close friend to Adams and a teacher of zoology at Mount Holyoke College. The letter by Morgan is written from Kartabo, South America regarding the people, sites, and adventures she had along her trip through the South American tropics. There is also a note in a Christmas card, 1957, which Adams addressed to "Dorothy," probably Dorothy Cogswell, who was a professor of art at Mount Holyoke College.

The writings includes published experiments and writings conducted by Adams. Most of the publications center around endocrinology, embryology, and Triturus viridescens. They focus on the different factors that effect the Triturus viridescens and their endocrinology and embryology. The series also includes some notes and reports about her activities and a bibliography of Adams's writing.

Materials in this series consist of letters, telegrams, memoranda, drafts, notes, and lists. These documents reflect Adams's leading roll in the controversy surrounding the appointment of Roswell G. Ham as the first male President of Mount Holyoke College, succeeding Mary E. Woolley. The series includes correspondence between Adams and the Board of Trustees concerning issues such as the process of eliminating candidates for the position, the worry that Mount Holyoke College was not maintaining its standard, and President Woolley's retirement. The series also includes significant correspondence between Adams and various individuals with connections to Mount Holyoke concerning the retirement of President Woolley and the search process. Correspondents include Marion Park, Kathryn McHale, and Frances Perkins (Mount Holyoke Class of 1902). The series also includes a letter from Elizabeth Walter, a Mount Holyoke College alumna, (Class of 1929) denying the Trustees' request that the faculty and alumna stop their opposition to the new president's appointment. Also included is a list of candidates sent to Adams by Mrs. John M. Maguire. Most of the letters to Adams express the sentiment that a woman should be the next President of Mount Holyoke, but the priority is finding someone that is experienced, educated, and executive. Of particular note in the series is an open letter to the Trustees of Mount Holyoke College written by Adams asking why a man was chosen when majority of the faculty and alumnae prefer a qualified woman for the position. The series also contains a list of people who opposed and approved of Adams's open letter to the Trustees and the statistics for this poll. Also included are copies of editorials and letters written by Mount Holyoke College alumnae regarding the new President.

The biographical information chiefly consists of newspaper articles about her professional activities. Also included are a resume and biographical sketch, a tribute published in the "Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly," obituary notes, the text for her memorial service, and notes by several friends and relatives written after Adams's death.

The photographs consists of snapshots and formal photographs of Adams, 1914-circa 1957, pictures of Adams with friends, in laboratories with students, the house that she shared with Ann Haven Morgan, and photographs from a Mount Holyoke College reunion in 1939. Also included is a group of snapshots which were collected or taken by Dorothy Blair, Adams's Mount Holyoke College roommate.