The Maria Cano Martinez papers date from 1976 to 2017 and measure 2.5 linear inches. The papers consist of a memoir, a scrapbook, newspaper clippings, and an article from The Annals of Iowa.

"Leno and Maria: A Success Story," a memoir written by Maria Cano Martinez's brother, Vincent P. Cano, in 1985, chronicles the Cano family's history and the emigration of Magdaleno and Maria Cano to the U.S. from Mexico in the late 1920s; it includes a 1992 photograph of the Cano family.

The scrapbook consists of laminated pages assembled by Vincent P. Cano to commemorate the life and work of his sister Maria Cano Martinez, especially her work establishing a Spanish language interpretation program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. It includes newspaper clippings, newsletters, obituaries, and a transcript of the funeral mass for Maria Cano Martinez at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Iowa City.

The article "Creating a Barrio in Iowa City, 1916-1936: Mexican Section Laborers and the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad Company" was authored by Nathaniel Otjen and appeared in The Annals of Iowa Volume 76, Number 4 in Fall 2017.