The Jay N. Darling collection consists of 60 linear feet of material, organized into nine series. Since this collection is made up of a series of gifts made at different times and arranged according to different schemes, its organization is sometimes complex. A thorough biographical note follows this scope and contents note, as does a list of related materials in other collections.

Series I-A: The Cartoons; Proof copies, clippings, and other reproductions of Darling's cartoons that are held physically by the Libraries are described in this section of the finding aid. Late in his life Darling said that he thought he had drawn 15,000 cartoons for newspapers, magazines, to illustrate books, and even for use in advertisements. These cartoons exist in many forms, ranging from the original 22 x 28 inch ink drawings to pressman's impressions to clippings from newspapers and tear sheets from magazines to photostatic and photographic reproductions. This series also contains lists of Ding's favorite cartoons, lists of cartoons, and "Looking Through the Years With Ding." The Libraries holds some 6000 original drawings; these are now indicated on the metadata records that are part of the digitized cartoons available for searching or browsing at The Editorial Cartoons of J. N. "Ding" Darling. The finding aid also briefly describes cartoons signed by Tom Carlisle, Darling's assistant from 1926 and his successor in 1949.

Series I-B: Other Art Forms; Illustrations for articles, books, advertising; building panels; watercolors; sketches; and etchings. Besides newspaper cartoons, Darling created non-cartoon illustrations for various magazines and products, and he made etchings and watercolors.

Series II: Biographical Materials; Includes biographical essays, photographs, honors and awards, and public service records. For more lengthy pieces on Darling, see the "Writings about Darling" segment of Series III.

Series III: Writings; Writings by Darling ; Writings about Darling; On Cartoons and Cartooning (not by Darling) This series also includes essays and articles about but not by Darling, including materials about cartooning in general.

Series IV: Conservation; includes American Wildlife Institute, Civilian Conservation Council, Clearinghouse for Conservation, conservation education, Council of Conservationists, General Wildlife Federation, Institute for the Restoration of Wildlife, Iowa Natural Resources Council, Izaak Walton League, Jay N. Darling Wildlife Refuge and Society, National Wildlife Federation, Okoboji Lakeside Laboratory, United States Fish and Game Service, and Wildlife Society, among other items.

Series V: Correspondence - this series contains Darling's copious correspondence. The first subseries is in chronological order with each item assigned a number for name and subject cross-indexing. The second subseries has been arranged in alphabetical order by name of correspondent or organization. The final subseries is from Darling's 1925 illness, and is comprised mostly of short cards, often with incomplete signatures. When searching for a correspondent, it is well to remember these three schemes; to conduct a complete search, all three sequences must be examined.

Series VI: Travel photographs and memorabilia from trips the Darlings took, mostly from the early 1920s. Darling and his family traveled extensively.

Series VII: The J. N. "Ding" Darling Foundation. The Jay N. "Ding" Darling Foundation, now defunct though it maintains a web site, has its own series.

Series VIII: Scrapbooks; This series consists of scrapbooks dealing with Darling's family life, travels, conservation, politics and the cat whisker incident (see scrapbook #7 for further details). These scrapbooks contain mostly newspaper clippings, but also cards, programs, and letters. These materials are fragile. Some of the items once pasted down have come unstuck; others were never pasted but merely laid between pages of the scrapbooks. Some of the scrapbooks have a definite scheme, (e.g.,"J. N. Darling for Senator"), but for the most part, there seems to be no unifying theme.

Series IX: Slides (slides are stored in vertical file 1, drawer 4). Darling was an active speaker and sometimes illustrated his lectures with slides.

2002 Addendum; Martha Hyde-Wynn collection of letters, clippings, and ephemera from the Darling-Dennis friendship, including a series of coasters and napkins designed by Darling.

Alphabetical indexes to the cartoons may be found at the Iowa Digital Library entry for Darling. See external documents below for a link.