The Josephine Pletscher Papers date from 1922 to 2010 and measure 3.5 linear feet, with the majority of the materials dating from the mid-1950s and later. The collection reflects both Pletscher's interest in the career of her mentor and friend, Corita Kent, as well as her lasting connection to Immaculate Heart College. Over the course of several decades, Pletscher amassed a variety of materials related to Immaculate Heart College and Corita Kent. Her "Corita archive" became well-known among her former Immaculate Heart classmates, who then forwarded Pletscher their own keepsakes and other materials of interest.

The collection is arranged into ten series: Biographical Information, Correspondence, Immaculate Heart College, Corita Kent, Research Files, Photographs, Slides, Artwork, Artifacts, and Books.

The Biographical Information series includes information relating to Corita Kent as well as her extended family. Folders include obituaries of Corita Kent and her older sister, Sister Mary Ruth Kent, as well as family trees and pedigrees drawn up in the early 2000s. The series also includes a binder of newspaper clippings and family materials, gathered and put together by Pletscher.

The Correspondence series contains correspondence to Josephine Pletscher from friends and former classmates from Immaculate Heart College. It includes a small number of letters from Corita Kent, as well as Kent's brother, Mark. Much of this series consists of correspondence between Pletscher and Sister Mary Ruth Kent. The two began writing in 1986, shortly after Corita Kent's death, and continued to write to one another until Sister Mary Ruth's death in 2004.

Pletscher's relationship to Immaculate Heart College as both a student and an alumna is reflected in the third series, Immaculate Heart College. Reflecting Pletscher's time as a student, the series includes brochures, posters, and flyers produced by the Department of Fine Arts, as well as newspaper clippings about the college's fine arts department as well as its religious sisters. Copies of the IHC newsletters Comment, Irregular Bulletin, Tower Tattler, and Reunion, further provide a window into the life of the college in the 1960s.

Pletscher's alumna connection is reflected in newspaper clippings and alumni newsletters, dating from 1980 to the mid-2000s. Many of these discuss the closing of Immaculate Heart College in 1981, and the activities of its successor institution, the Immaculate Heart College Center, which itself closed in 2000.

The fourth series, Corita Kent, focuses on Corita Kent's career, and includes exhibit brochures, art sale flyers, price lists, and some examples of commissioned artwork. A rich variety of magazine and newspaper articles not only trace Kent's career, but also speak to her place in the cultural zeitgeist of the 1960s and 1970s. Also included are materials and correspondence relating to various academic and creative projects based on Kent's life; these include a doctoral dissertation, a play, and a PBS documentary, Primary Colors.

The Research Files series contains Pletscher's handwritten notes and research into Corita Kent's life and work. These notes were either compiled by Josephine Pletscher, or given to her by Sister Mary Ruth Kent. Some undated drafts and articles which may have been part of a book about Corita Kent are also included in this series.

Visual material is included in both the Photographs and Slides series. These both include photographs and slides of Corita Kent's artwork, as well as Immaculate Heart College. The Photographs series also includes several photographs of Kent's extended family.

The Artwork series comprises artwork by both Corita Kent and Josephine Pletscher. It includes twenty-seven serigraphs by Corita Kent, mostly dating from 1957 to the mid-1960s. It also includes twenty-one titled serigraphs by Josephine Pletscher, which date from 1961 to 1964. The series also includes a number of untitled serigraphs from the same period, as well as Christmas cards and miscellaneous artwork created by Pletscher from the 1960s to the mid-2000s.

The Artifacts series is composed of two items: a 1979 "I Love You Very" collector's plate, and Corita Kent's personal rosary beads, which were given to Pletscher by Sister Mary Ruth Kent. Books written or illustrated by Corita Kent form the bulk of the Books series, as well as several books tackling religious themes.