The Mary Jayne “MJ” Williams papers date from 1959 to 2002 and measure 1.5 linear feet in four boxes. The papers are arranged in two series: Biographical and Theatre.

The Biographical series consists of a brief biography written by Williams’ daughter, correspondence from friends and past students, and newspaper clippings from her long career as a teacher. Some of the newspaper clippings depict Williams’ role in fighting against the Iowa High School Speech Association’s censorship rules that ban depictions of smoking, drinking, and other “lewd” behaviors in stage productions.

The Theatre series contains two subseries: Fairfield and West High. The Fairfield subseries is composed of a scrapbook that includes photographs, newspaper clippings, and programs from Williams’ stage productions at Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Iowa. Arranged by production, the West High subseries is made up of director’s notes, scripts, photographs, programs, and other stage production memorabilia from Williams’ time at West High School in Iowa City, Iowa.