The Judy Polumbaum papers date from 1987-1997 and are arranged in three series: UI School of Journalism; and World, Women, and Media, and Professional.

The UI School of Journalism series dates from 1987-1996 and reflects many areas of department life. Materials include event descriptions, correspondence with guest speakers, course materials (including handouts as well as student writing), fellowship nominations, Daily Iowan applications, and other departmental news and information. A sizeable portion of the series is dedicated to writing professionals in residence at the university, including schedules of their public speaking events and availability for student appointments.

The World, Women, and Media series dates from 1975-1997 and is named for two events held at The University of Iowa in preparation for the 1995 UN conference on women in Beijing. The first event, proposed by Polumbaum, took place in June 1994 and featured presentations and discussions under the auspices of the Center for Advanced Studies. The second, which took place in March 1995, solidified preparations for the UN conference, and included people who later attended the Beijing meetings, who planned and edited news coverage of the meetings, or who were involved with the meetings in some other capacity. Both University of Iowa events are captured in planning correspondence, programs, and presentation materials.  Also in this series is correspondence and other material that reflects Polumbaum's logistical role in helping other scholars and journalists attend the UN conference in Beijing. In addition to the conference-related material, this series includes articles and papers (many by University of Iowa graduate students) on topics relating to World Women and Media, as well as articles and research material on Chinese women and their relationship to government, society, and the academy.

The Professional series contains photocopies of field notes taken by Polumbaum while interviewing jounralists in China and one article "China's New Iron Girls" by Polumbaum.