The Laura H. Davis papers date from 1869 to 1993 and measure 8.75 linear feet. The papers are arranged in five series: Social Work; Clubs, Church and Civic groups; Education; Personal; and Financial records. This collection provides a glimpse of one woman's role in social welfare from Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s to the period following Johnson's war on poverty of the 1960s.

The Social Work series (1942-1985 and undated) illumnated Davis's professional life. The series documents her role in various positions, from paid caseworker to her voluntary membership on community boards and task forces. Davis worked to start a Family Service Agency in Cedar Rapids and this effort is documented by a report in 1956 and through her involvement with the committee that hired the first director of the agency. The topical speeches and notes provide insight into Davis's views on child welfare, the elderly and the community's role in the life of all individuals. The series also contains Davis's notes and the policy statement she wrote for the 1961 White House Conference on Aging.

The Clubs, Church and Civic groups series (1880-1989 and undated) documents her connection with the Red Cross, YWCA, Quota Club and the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids. Through her church, Davis volunteered as the secretary of the Board of Directors of the Geneva Corporation and Foundation which built the thirteen-story retirement apartment building, Geneva Tower, in downtown Cedar Rapids. The series includes three booklets entitled Topics for Prayer Meetings that date from 1880s.

The Education series (1928-1993 and undated) contains records of Davis's education from primary school to the graduate level, with notes and papers she wrote for grade school through her master's degree in social work. The series also includes the outlines and lecture notes Davis used for the classes in community organization and sociology she taught at Mount Mercy College and St. Luke's School of Nursing located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Davis was interviewed by the University of Iowa School of Social Work in 1988 as part of an oral history project. The transcript of this interview provides insight into the changing public view of social work from the 1930s through the 1950s.

The Personal series (1869-1993 and undated) represents Davis's domestic and married life and includes extensive correspondence with family and friends. This series also includes papers and letters to and from Lloyd Davis during World War II. There is one folder of victory mail (V-mail), used to minimize the bulk of mail delivered and to expedite delivery during the war. The series has many photographs of Davis and family members. The photograph album of Davis's maternal aunt, Bessie C. Thompson, depicts Thompson's life as a young school teacher in 1918 in Iowa and Wyoming.

The Financial records series (1891-1993) contains Laura Lloyd Davis' personal tax records and estate papers of relatives. This series is closed to researchers.