The papers of James S. Schramm are organized into seven series: 1) Correspondence; 2) Personal Papers; 3) Speeches; 4) Politics; 5) Organizations; 6) Trade; and 7) Art. Correspondence files are arranged alphabetically; however, additional letters are scattered throughout the collection. Some correspondents include Robert K. Goodwin, Edith Gregor Halpert, Dwight Kirsch, David Kruidemer, Jr., George Nagle, and Sinclair Weeks. The personal papers series primarily relates to Schramm's military service. The Speeches series is not distinct, and like the correspondence series, additional speeches are found elsewhere in the papers.

The Politics Series includes political correspondence and speeches. There are also more than six boxes of materials relating to Republican politics. More specifically, there are folders on topics ranging from Lincoln Day Dinners to Central Committee finances and on people such as Gerald Bogan, Thomas C. Murphy, King R. Palmer, and Nelson A. Rockefeller. The Organizations series documents Schramm's association with such divergent groups as the Iowa Economic Studies Council and Amherst College to the Governor's Commission on Human Rights and the Museum of Contemporary Art. There are also four boxes of material relating to U.S. trade missions and the Committee for a National Trade Policy. Included here are speeches, correspondence, policy manuals, and other materials.