The Jean Kern papers date from 1921 to 1988 and measure 12.5 linear inches. They are arranged in four series: Personal material, Photographs, Professionallife, and Volunteer activities. Comprised primarily of photographs, the collection illustrates the richness of Kern's international experiences, her broad interest in the humanities, the focus of her professional career after retirement and a slice of her personal life. A small part of the collection addresses gender discrimination in academia.

The Personal material series (1921-1994,scattered) contains a 1929-1931 college life diary written while Kern pursued her undergraduate degree, along with her father's memoirs and her living will. This series also includes information on the Kern's international travels in the 1980s, recorded through log diaries.

The Photographs series (1921-1994) contains photographs from Kern's early childhood, her family and friends (mostly unidentified) and an extensive collection of pictures recording Kern's international travels.

The third series, Professional life (1980-1988)consists of correspondence and publications written by Kern after her retirement in 1975. Her interaction with national and international colleagues reflects the respect and warmth Kern's colleagues had for her. Although much of the correspondence discusses requests for reviewing manuscripts written by her colleagues, a few of the letters speak to the difficulties women face in academia. Of particular interest on this topic is the correspondence to and from Mary Anne Schofield (Box 3, Professional life, correspondence, 1980-1988). Kern frequently drafted responses on the back of original letters. This series also contains published essays and book reviews.

The Volunteer activities (1980-1993) are comprised of materials regarding the Iowa Humanities Board, the University of Iowa Museum of Art docents, the Nineteenth-Century Club, and the Greater Iowa Housing Fellowship meetings, where Kern represented her church, the Unitarian Universalists.