The Nancy Pfeiffer Towner papers date from 1964 to 2004 and measure 3.96 linear feet (10 boxes). The collection is organized into seven series: Biographical, Writing, Art, Artist’s books, Journals and sketchbooks, Publications, and Exhibitions.

The Biographical series (1964-2004) contains materials related to her college education, letters, awards, newspaper clippings, her resume, documents related to her National League of American Pen Women membership, photographs, and obituaries of Towner and her husband.

The Writing series (1965-2001) contains unpublished or work-in-progress versions of various short stories and poems that Towner wrote. Larger stories have been arranged into their own folders while shorter stories have been combined into one folder. Many are undated; the undated stories have been arranged alphabetically.

The Art series (1972-2002) contains prints and photographs of Towner’s art, references Towner used for art, her artist statements, and print negatives. Also included in this series are bulletin covers from Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City where Towner drew many of the bulletin covers. There are final versions and draft versions of many of the bulletin covers.

The Artist’s books series (1980-1993) contains various artist’s books created by Towner. Artist’s books are an interactive art medium that function as both a book and an art piece. Many of her artist’s books include writing, poetry, and art she created or exhibited previously. Most of the artist’s books are undated and the undated artist’s books have been arranged alphabetically.

The Journals and sketchbooks series (1968-1997) contains journals and notebooks that Towner used to write and draw. Some are entirely dedicated to writing and poetry, some were used as diaries, and others have art or photographs of art. Many of the journals included in this series served multiple purposes and have both writing and art in them. Some journals were given a title, or they have been identified by their color or notes that gave context to when or where the journal was used. They have been arranged by date.

The Publications series (1980-2001) is split into two sub-series: Art and Writing. The Art sub-series contains publications that Towner published art in, often as the cover of the periodical. The Writing sub-series contains literary publications either collected by Towner or that her writing was published in. Many of the literary publications are local to Iowa, but there are national publications in both sub-series.

The Exhibitions series (1964-2003) contains materials related to exhibitions Towner partook in. Materials include exhibition inventories, applications, and photographs of exhibits. Also included are exhibition materials from Arts Iowa City and the National League of American Pen Women.