The collection contains more than 2,500 volumes by and about United States Presidents, First Ladies, and presidential candidates. Important primary source materials are available, such as collections of presidential papers (including volumes from the United States Government Printing Office's series, The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States), presidential correspondence, and presidential diaries. Biographies by the finest historians are represented as well. Materials are included from each president's term in office, as well as from their lives prior to and after serving as president.

The collection contains material about every President. The collection holdings are particular strong for George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt. Works and papers by prominent candidates for the American presidency are included, as well as coverage of first ladies.

The collection was donated by former University of Iowa president and law professor Willard "Sandy" Boyd, who passed away in 2022.