The records contain correspondence, subject files, and Institute publications. The Institute of Gerontology correspondence files are dated 1945-1971, and focus on services for the elderly in Iowa, a leading state in percentage of population over age 65. The correspondence is with various private, state, and federal agencies in Iowa, and with agencies of other states. Some of the correspondence revolves around conferences and courses at the Institute. Other subjects are the condition of nursing homes in Iowa, and the establishment of a permanent state Commission on the Aging. The correspondence includes many letters to or from staff members Mabel I. Edwards, Steven M. Horvath, and Woodrow Wilbert Morris. Mabel I. Edwards served as Research Associate for 18 years, and was editor of the bulletin, Adding Life to Years. Steven M. Horvath was Professor of Physiology in the UI College of Medicine 1949-1957, and the first Director of the Gerontology Institute. Woodrow Wilbert Morris succeeded Horvath as director in 1957, and was Associate Dean for Medical Student Affairs of the College of Medicine from 1949 until his retirement in 1984. As Director, Dr. Morris served on the National Citizen's Advisory Committee for the White House Conference on Aging in 1961, and was instrumental in the passage of the law to establish a permanent Commission on the Aging in Iowa in 1965. Several folders contain material about Iowa governors and U.S. representatives and senators, but they do not necessarily contain correspondence from these people. Some letters to or from U.S. senators of Iowa and other states are in the folders labeled U.S. legislature and U.S. Senate. A letter from Edward M. Kennedy, for example, dated July 17, 1967 is in a Woodrow W. Morris folder, and a John R. Schmidhauser letter is in the S folder.