This collection contains the papers of John W. Carlson and span the period of 1913 to 1977. This fifteen-box collection consists of Carlson's correspondence, diaries, missionary papers, personal papers, professional papers, work concerning alfalfa seed production, materials relating to his research on the lygus bug, and work on various Utah State University agricultural experiment stations. Correspondence has been arranged chronologically and the sender and receiver have been listed. The researcher should be aware that some materials in this collection, although few, are in the Swedish language.

This collection also contains a two-box addendum that was placed at the end of the collection (boxes 14 and 15). This addendum contains some of Carlson's correspondence, essays, publications, dissertation papers, school notes, and other papers. These materials have been arranged topically, chronologically, and then alphabetically.

This collection also contains papers concerning John Leroy Carlson, John W. Carlson's son who died in 1945. John Leroy Carlson's papers (boxes 4 and 5) include his records while a student at USAC during 1943 and 1944 and correspondence concerning his experience in the US Navy during World War II , 1944 to 1945. These papers describe his experience at US Naval Training Center at Farragut, ID, Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco and Great Lakes Naval Base, Illinois, where he died of Rheumatic Fever.