Snapshots taken by James or his family and friends during his University of Pennsylvania years illustrate Philadelphia scenes, fellow students and friends, and voyages to Europe and South America. Photographs of a summer vacation in 1944, the Convocation dinner of 1949 and a journey to Hong Kong and Japan in the early 1960s round off this part of the collection. The greater part of these photographs are formal or professional pictures. These include prints from the press and NFB photographs of McGill convocations during World War II, scenes of student life (1959 and 1961) and McGill buildings (1945), McGill scenes (1962), the dedication of the Morgan Arboretum (1949), the High Altitude Research Project, the closing ceremonies of Dawson College, special events, and visitors to the campus. There are also formal portraits of James and his wife, including a series of studies done for the McGill News in 1962, and photographs taken at convocations conferring honorary degrees on James.

These are materials published by the Council as such, or independently by its members. With respect to the former, the MCSA issued numerous documents produced in the course of its operations (initially from the New Birks Building, 10 Cathcart Street, and sometimes, also in early days, from no stated location; then from 1421 Atwater Avenue and subsequently its long-standing 1040 Atwater Avenue address). Many of these it listed in a cumulative Index to Publications composed of four chronological·Series· (file 464), nominally starting in 1919 and ending in 1968, though the first actual entry in the Index is dated 1934. The contents of the Publications (MCSA and Member Organizations) Series, however, span 1920 - 1969; and, while they do not comprise every item published by headquarters or members, do reflect those in practice filed as the series title indicates. (The Council routinely published its Annual Reports and the proceedings of Annual Meetings, but these are classified together as a separate series) .

The materials contained in Publications (MCSA and Member Organizations) embrace a range of categories, but prominent are the Commentator and Comment newsletters; service directories and guides; briefs, reports, studies and surveys; and institute, conference and workshop proceedings. Following the Council's usage, many of these materials also appear in other series. While the large majority were published by the MCSA, a few, like Administration of a Chronic Disease Hospital: ' Maimonides Hospital and Home for the Aged (file 1132), Montreal Parks and Playgrounds Association Incorporated: A Half Century of Community Service, 1902-1952 (file 1133), or the collection of articles by the Royal Victoria Hospital's Social Service Department (file 1052), are productions of member organizations.

Administrative records consist of general and committee minutes, 1902-1972, annual reports, 1902-1964, personnel files, 1937-1947, files of correspondence and memoranda on individual sites as well as themes, e.g. water pollution, 1906-1972; and various surveys and studies, 1912-1967.

Approximately 40 volumes of addresses given between 1939 and 1967 to audiences both within and outside McGill cover a wide range of educational and social topics. Press releases, obituaries and messages (e.g. for Old McGill) are included. The unbound addresses cover James' pre- and post-retirement years. The first category is largely concerned with education, including McGill history. This category also contains information files used for preparing speeches. The post-retirement category focuses on broader subjects, such as the nature of the university and the work of OXFAM.

This series includes maps made by or used by Johannsen for trails and other purposes.

This series contains records of J.W. McConnell, and in some instances additional members of his immediate family, documenting their involvement in numerous fundraising and philanthropic works.

The records were divided into specific subseries (Hospitals and Health Care; Higher Education; War Efforts) to reflect the work of McConnell to meet the different needs of Montreal and communities abroad. The records consist of fundraising correspondence and requests from McConnell, photographs, artefacts, financial reports and statements from the McGill campaign and ephemera related to fundraising including a set of index cards that McConnell used to organize the McGill fundraising campaign. Specific fundraising inititatives include: McGill $5,000,000 Campaign, 1943/1944; Montreal Joint Hospital Campaign, 1927; Victoria Order of Nurses Pension Fund, 1944/1945; Victory Loan Campaign, 1917-1918; ‘Wings for Britain’ Campaign; and McConnell’s personal donation of $1,000,000 to create the McConnell Squadron of Royal Air Force Spitfires, 1941-1946.

This series contains a scrapbook commemorating Jackrabbit's 90th birthday in 1965. It is composed of collected anecdotes, photographs and correspondence. Handwritten markers have been placed in the book. These were possibly written by Alice in her research for the book "The Legendary Jackrabbit Johannsen".

Series contains briefs, correspondence, and meeting documents relating to the work of committees.

Series consists of scrapbooks of news clippings covering the periods 1902-1904, 1916-1932, 1935-1937, 1939, and 1949-1964; some scrapbooks are thematic, for example, one on the Mount Royal tram line.

Series contains of publications and publicity-related documents circulated by the Association.