The Carolyn 'Kay' Bucksbaum papers date from 1949 to 1998 and measure 2 linear feet. The papers are arranged in three series: Biographical, Civic activism and Writings.

The Biographical series contains Bucksbaum's 1998 resume, a biographical paper describing three generations of women in her family, a copy of a newspaper article announcing Buckbaum's election as the first woman to chair the Grinnell College Board of Trustees, and two speeches Bucksbaum wrote for events at Grinnell College.

The Civic activism series makes up the bulk of the Bucksbaum papers and is divided into several sub-series: AAUW (American Association of University Women), Jewish community, Des Moines Symphony, Grinnell College, YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association), Young Women's Resource Center, The Iowa Center for the Book, Planned Parenthood, League of Women Voters and Proteus Club. The Jewish community sub-series includes a history of Iowa Jewry written by Dr. Michael Bell and Temple Sisterhood social actions in which Bucksbaum was involved. The Des Moines Symphony has quite a bit of information on fundraising efforts spearheaded by Bucksbaum, including a series of successful needlework shows. Bucksbaum's efforts for the Des Moines Symphony were considered pivotal and lasting.

The Grinnell College sub-series includes two folders of information on the I Have a Dream Foundation. There is also the text for Bucksbaum's 1973 speech, 'Directions: The Year 2001, or, For What Kind of Society Are We Educating Men and Women?' The YWCA sub-series contains information from Bucksbaum's participation on the Women of Achievement steering committee, including nominations for Ann Green Anderson, Mary Louise Smith and Joan Lipsky.

The League of Women Voters (LWV) sub-series includes several documents pertaining to the Des Moines chapter of the League of Women Voters successful efforts in 1949 to change Des Moines' mayoral system to a city manager system. The documents include studies, questionnaires and workshop materials used by the Des Moines League during the initial campaign to change the municipal government system and as review measures in the following years. Also included in the LWV sub-series are documents from the organization's state level: state program planning, legislative studies and the League's position regarding the 1959-1960 Iowa Constitutional Convention. A 1953 paper on individual liberties was written by the Iowa City LWV chapter, a project chaired by Helen Lemme.

The Proteus Club sub-series includes several of the papers Bucksbaum presented to the group over a ten-year span. Also included are the Agriculture reference files Bucksbaum collected while researching for her paper, 'There Goes the Family Farm.' These files contain articles, brochures, and correspondence, along with information from the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

The Writings series contains a variety of samples of Bucksbaum's authorial skills, including book reviews, letters to the editor, articles, poetry and fiction. One piece, 'Get the Whole Town Talking!' describes the first outdoor art fair held in Marshalltown, Iowa.