There is a master copy and a reference set of the microfiche which was produced by the Department of Political Science. The original collection covered 1952-1978, with some earlier content resulting from personal collections of newspaper cuttings (eg NSW trade unions from 1938). Annual supplements were produced from 1979 to 1992.

The cuttings were taken from The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Canberra Times and The Australian Financial Review, supplemented by The Courier Mail, The Advertiser, The West Australian, The Mercury, The Examiner, The Northern Territory News, and the weekly National Times and The Sunday Mail (Brisbane). Periodically there are cuttings from other country and suburban papers.

The classification scheme developed over time but the summary published in 1986 gives an indication of the range of topics:

1. Commonwealth: Commonwealth government, Commonwealth parties, Commonwealth parliament, Senate, constitutional crises, Commonwealth elections, Commonwealth electoral system
2. The States (a set for each State): State government, State finance, State parties, State parliaments, State elections, State electoral systems, State trade unions, State local government
3. Foreign Affairs and Defence: general, then by countries and continents
4. Finance and Economic: general, aid to overseas countries, airlines, banking, budget, Campbell Report, Martin report, decimal currency, consumer protection, economic affairs internal, European Economic Community, government enterprises, employment/unemployment, inflation, international trade, marketing (primary products), wool marketing inquiry, national development, Maralinga, overseas investment, pollution and conservation, primary industry, restrictive trade practices, tariff/industry policy, taxation, transport, Vernon Committee report
5. General: arbitration – general, arbitration – wages, broadcasting and television, church-state, education, Federal/State relations, health, medical and drugs, housing, immigration, ethnic communities, New Left, northern development, Northern Territory, personalities, posts and telegraphs, pressure groups, public opinion polls, Returned Servicemen’s League, Public Service, social services, Commonwealth trade unions, industrial disputes, local government, urban development, urban research and decentralisation, civil liberties, law ethics, legal aid, High Court and Constitution, Constitutional Convention, referendums, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, censorship, women’s issues, equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination, aborigines.