The collection consists mainly of minutes, financial records, manuscripts of unpublished texts and correspondence. It provides interesting detail on what one section of society thought would provide education for another. There is much useful information on the reading preferences of the public, and on the growth and development of Mechanics' Institutes. Most of those concerned with the founding of the Society as a project in self-education were also involved in the founding of the new University of London (now University College London) and some, like Augustus De Morgan and George Long, actually taught there. There is also considerable information on the work of publishers, illustrators, engravers and booksellers and on writers, whether already established authorities in their field or young hopefuls, like G H Lewes, who sought to establish themselves through the Society's patronage.

Correspondence, memoranda and reports of Edward Rosen, Director of the Networks for Informal Adult Learning, 1984-1988.