The Artists in Action records date from 1974 to 1998 and measure 7.5 linear feet. The records are arranged in nine series: Administrative, Activities, Board of Directors, Shop materials, Member works, Related organizations, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Artifacts.

The Administrative series (1974-1998) contains the group's articles of incorporation, its mission statements, and organization histories. The bulk of this series consists of the monthly newsletters from Artists in Action's board of directors to its members. In addition, the series includes two folders of newspaper clippings reporting the group's major events, including its opening, anniversaries, its move to a new building, and an incident in which a car crashed through the shop's front window. Lists of member artists, newspaper articles describing their artistic pursuits, and artist questionnaires complete the series.

The Activities series (1974-1997) consists primarily of materials from the group's annual "Belle of the Bend Art Fair," including posters, registration forms, and mailing lists. In addition, the series contains registration forms and publicity from classes and exhibits in which the member artists participated.

The Board of Directors series (1974-1997) contains monthly minutes, budgets, correspondence between the board of directors and member artists or outside parties, and financial reports of shop sales by artist.

The Shop Materials series (1975-1997) documents the daily operations of the Artists in Action store. In includes the store's hours sign, display cards, guest books signed by customers, charge books, and layaway files. Finally, the series contains handwritten worker memos and journals in which shop workers described the day's activities at the shop, including how good business was, any repairs or cleaning performed, and noteworthy incidents.

The Member Works series (1976-1993) contains materials created by members. Nature and Nostalgia in Eastern Iowa, published in 1980, includes illustrations and narratives from a number of member artists; the artists' original drawings are located in the Artifacts series. Also included are illustrated booklets, cards and coloring books designed by member artists and sold in the shop. Finally, the series a short story, "The Remake of Heaven," by Writers on the Avenue member Aldeen Davis. (For further works by Artists in Action members, researchers should consult the Aldeen Davis papers, the National League of American Pen Women, Quad Cities records, and the Sally Stiles papers.)

The Related Organizations series (1976-1997) includes materials from two groups that grew out of Artists in Action: Writers on the Avenue and Tellers in Action. Information about their meetings and compilations of work from the early 1990s documents the gatherings of writers on the Avenue, whose members gathered to help each other hone their writing skills. There is similar information and publicity about Tellers in Action, a subgroup of artists who enjoyed the art of storytelling. Also included in the series are newsletters and publicity pertaining to AIA's involvement with the Greater Downtown Muscatine Association and the Muscatine County Arts Council.

The Photograph series (1974-1995) includes slides and photographs of demonstrations and displays from the AIA store; photographs of member artists and the classes that they taught in the 1970s and 1980s; and photographs from Belle of the Bend art fair activities and the organization's anniversary parties.

The Scrapbooks (1974-1997) document the each year's activities with written commentary by the scrapbooks' creators. Many of the scrapbooks in this series have been disbound from their original three-ring binders to minimize strain on the materials and placed into folders in their original order.

The Artifacts series (1974-1994) includes the group's original stamp used for shop materials and group newsletters, a worker name badge from the 1990s, and the organization's framed first checks. The series also includes the original proofs for the group's brochure, the original drawings for the book,Nature and Nostalgia in Eastern Iowa, and a framed photograph of a display of dolls from the shop. Finally, the series holds a "Shop Downtown Muscatine" poster mapping Muscatine businesses with member notations about which businesses had moved or closed since the poster was created.