The Jessie Field Shambaugh papers date from 1901 to 1994 and measure 4.5 linear inches. They consist of materials relating to Shambaugh's life, primarily a scrapbook about her career in agricultural education and the early development of 4-H.

The scrapbook contains copies of newspaper articles, photocopies of photographs, reminiscences by Shambaugh and others, including "Walking Through History with my Grandmother," a scrapbook compiled by her granddaughter, Heather Watkins, for a 4-H project, and several histories of the early 4-H. The collection also includes biographical material, writings by Jessie Field Shambaugh, items about 4-H in Iowa, and photographs.

The biographical material folder contains materials pertaining to Jessie Field Shambaugh's life history including two issues of The Palimpsest, the July/August 1981 issue containing the cover article, "Jessie Field Shambaugh: The Mother of 4-H" and the September/October 1983 issue containing an article on Jessie Field Shambaugh's brother, Henry Field.

The writings folder contains copies of articles and poems by Jessie Field Shambaugh, especially those that appeared in Association Monthly, a publication of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA).

The 4-H in Iowa folder includes the February 1988 issue of The Goldfinch on "4-H and Iowa"; a postcard of and article on Lois Edmunds, a 3-H member and State Champion Bread Baker; and four newspaper clippings on the re-dedication of the Goldenrod School in October 1994. The photographs folder contains ten photographs depicting both Shambaugh and early 4-H activities.

Also included in the collection are two books shelved in the printed works collection. The Very Beginnings (1963) by Faye Whitmore and Manila Cheshire chronicles the early history of 4-H in Iowa and includes a brief forward by Jessie Field Shambaugh. The Memory Book (1918) originated as a manuscript written by the Field children, Henry, Leanna, Helen, Susan, Martha and Jessie, as a Christmas present for their parents in 1915.

In addition, the collection contains three videocassettes; a slide presentation "Jessie Field Shambaugh: Mother of 4-H," (1991) narrated by her granddaughter, Heather Watkins, an interview with Martin Johnson who was a corn club judge from 1909-1910 and was involved with early 3-H and 4-H in Page County, and "Celebrating 4-H Through the Years," (1996) an Iowa Sesquicentennial program produced by Iowa State University.

In addition to these holdings in the Iowa Women's Archives, the library has a textbook, Community Civics, co-authored by Jessie Field Shambaugh and Scott Nearing. This book, aimed at rural students, tries to teach civics "in terms of [children's] own lives." It is available in the Special Collections department.