This collection contains three types of material: first person accounts (diaries, journals, and autobiographies); second person accounts (biographies, life sketches, and local histories); and transcripts of interviews with pioneer Utahns. For those pioneers who had kept written histories, WPA workers copied their diaries (over 400) by hand and then typed them out. For those pioneers who had kept no diary or other record of their lives, WPA workers interviewed them using a standard set of questions. The answers to these questions were generally recorded on one to two pages. Such an entry in the index is marked as "Interview." A copy of the questionnaire used can be found in each of the boxes of this collection, as well as in the front of the register for this collection. Researchers are encouraged to examine the questionnaire in order to understand the context of the answers given. The diaries in Mss Collection #18 do not represent a complete set of the Library of Congress Mormon Diaries. However, a complete set of the diaries is housed in Special Collections in the Utah Reels Collection #220, part 1 - 13.

It appears that the typed transcriptions were made with an original and four carbon copies. In reference to the carbons, there have been instances where some diaries have apparently been retyped because the carbons are not identical. The contents of these diaries provides valuable information on Mormon pioneer life.