The J. Bracken Lee collection consists of two main sections: albums and loose manuscript materials. The 42 albums were left intact and rehoused in archival cartons. The loose manuscript materials were sorted and placed in acid-free folders and archival boxes. Together these items span much of Lee's life, from childhood through retirement. The albums, which contain mainly photographs and newspaper clippings, cover Lee's childhood, political career, and retirement. Little organization exists within or among these albums, so album-level descriptions have been created to assist the researcher. These summaries explain what types of materials are contained within each album, what topics they address, what time period they cover, and what notable items they include.

The loose manuscript material has been organized into seven main categories: newspaper articles, ephemera, handwritten notes, transcripts, correspondence, audio recordings, and publications. The newspaper articles are sorted by decade, and recurring topics are noted in the register at the folder level. The majority of the ephemera consists of campaign materials, but there are also numerous other items, including two Utah Municipal League programs (1938 and 1939), a Price Municipal Building dedication program (1939), a booklet entitled, "Morals and the Mayor" (1948), two transcripts of Governor Lee's legislative addresses (1949 and 1951), and a booklet concerning Governor Lee's proposal to turn Weber, Snow, and Dixie colleges over to the LDS church (1954). Governor Lee's "number 1" automobile license plates (1949) are also housed under this heading.

Transcripts and correspondence are also organized by decade, similar to the newspaper articles. The transcripts include dialogue from numerous radio and television programs, as well as speeches for the Republican National Convention, Idaho Republican Party, Ad-Sell League, and the For America organization. Lee's acceptance speech for the 1962 Republican nomination for Senate and a transcript of a 1960 meeting with W. Cleon Skousen are also a part of these materials. For the most part, the correspondence in this collection dates from Lee's retirement, in the 1970s and 1980s. Notable figures to which Lee wrote letters are President Ronald Reagan (1982), Congressman Jack Kent (1983), and Senator Bob Dole (1986). Lee's correspondence also includes form letters about foreign aid and wildlife conservation, as well as a batch of correspondence labeled "Lee Personal."

Handwritten notes appear to be drafts of speeches and letters, but nearly all are unlabeled and undated. While many of the notes appear to be missing pages or shuffled together, care was taken to keep these pages in the order in which they were found. Speeches and other events in which Lee was involved are preserved in the audio recordings, which include reel-to-reel, audograph, and vinyl record formats. These have all been digitized and a CD of each recording is housed with the original.

The final two boxes contain oversized items, including publications containing articles about Lee, as well as two loose photographs of Lee and his wife, Margaret. The last box houses full-page newspaper spreads that were previously laminated and are organized by decade. These articles, which are largely dated from the 1940s and 1950s, are from newspapers like the Deseret News, Western Farm Life, Carbon College News, Emery County Progress, andGrit. Few of these newspapers contain articles specifically about Lee, who perhaps collected them because they covered topics of interest to him.