The Papers of Bohumil Shimek include published material and field notes taken by Shimek, assessing geological and botanical features of Iowa counties and other areas of the Midwest around the turn of the twentieth century. The collection also includes a set of his articles, both published and unpublished, arranged alphabetically by title.

University of Iowa professor of botany, 1908-1940. Director of the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, 1919-1923. Workshop and was instrumentalnd was instrumental in designing the first doctoral program in mass communication in the U.S.