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Vincent Schaefer planned to write a book on the atmosphere for decades. Correspondence shows that he brought the idea to Houghton Mifflin Editor-in-Chief Paul Brooks in the mid-1950s (Box 1, Folder 40) but the book was not finished at that point. Later, Schaefer collaborated with Professor John A. Day of Linfield College, Oregon and Christy Day for the final version of the book. Much of their correspondence regarding drafts is preserved in this series. The finished product, , was published in 1981 in the Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide series, an inclusion that generated media attention and notoriety. Included in this series are both handwritten and typed drafts, proofread copies, correspondence regarding drafts and the finished product, individual chapter files along with many photographs, slides and negatives. The collection also includes three folders containing files from a collaborative project Schaefer worked on titled "Glories of the Sky."

Schaefer's connection with the University at Albany began in 1959 when the school was still known as the New York State Teachers College, located in downtown Albany. When Schaefer began the highly successful Atmospheric Physics Program via the Loomis School in Connecticut, he attracted the attention of Dean Oscar Lanford and President Evan Collins of the New York State Teachers College. They asked Schaefer to come teach at their Albany school, and within his first year as a faculty member, the idea for the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) was born. Officially established in February 1961, it was originally located in the old General Electric hangar at Schenectady Airport. Although the former New York State Teachers College expanded to the current uptown Albany campus in the mid-1960s, officially becoming the University at Albany, State University of New York, the ASRC remained centered in Schenectady at that time. Meanwhile, the Atmospheric Physics Program that began at the Loomis School shifted to Albany to be under the sponsorship of the ASRC, where it became the Natural Sciences Institute (NSI). However, since the program's roots were not originally with the ASRC and University at Albany, those records comprise their own series within this collection (Series #5).

This series contains a variety of materials from Vincent Schaefer's personal life, some of it autobiographical. Subseries one features his unpublished memoir, Twenty Years at Langmuir University, but also family photographs, an extensive personal log, and awards. The series also documents his passions for hiking, Scouting, skiing, geology, artwork, Dutch Barns, local history and archeology.

Vincent Schaefer began his work as a meteorological consultant when he was still with General Electric, then continued during his Munitalp years, but his consulting services increased in the late 1950s as he became officially involved with the American Meteorological Society (A.M.S.) and New York State Teachers College. It was through the A.M.S. that Schaefer became a certified meteorological consultant. A highly diverse selection of institutions and individuals sought Schaefer's advice; his name and work began to be widely known during his General Electric days and continued to be recognized (and respected) when he was director of research for Munitalp.

The location of correspondence in this collection is based on how the archivist found the materials as donated by Schaefer. Although he filed a considerable amount of correspondence within materials from specific affiliations (ex. General Electric, Munitalp, consulting work), the archivist found still more correspondence boxed separately. Roughly half of these items were not subdivided or specially categorized in any way while others were foldered by topic. This arrangement has been retained by the archivist. Please note that this series contains letters, cards, and postcards that span the majority of Schaefer's life, from young adulthood to the weeks before he died in July 1993. Some are professional in nature while others are from friends and family.

One area of Vincent Schaefer's life that truly blended his personal interests and professional pursuits is environmental activism. Schaefer had a devotion to the outdoors from a very young age, both in terms of participating in recreational activities and regarding conservation efforts. His choice of atmospheric science and chemistry as his profession gave him the opportunity not only to spend extra time out in the elements, but also offered the chance to become an expert in environmental issues that he could then pursue in his spare time. The materials in this subseries highlight some of the activities and issues that most captured Schaefer's interest.

Schaefer donated many films to the archives that are related to his work at General Electric, Munitalp, and the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center/University at Albany, SUNY. There are also some reels that document his consulting work as well as a few that cover personal interests such as hiking. Films vary between 16 millimeter and 35 millimeter, with an emphasis on the latter. Some footage is black and white while other footage is in color. There were some film containers that arrived at the archives with two ID numbers on them; using Schaefer's own list, the archivist made every attempt to follow the creator's original numbering system. Due to time constraints on processing as well as the delicate nature of the film reels, most of the footage has not yet been viewed by the archivist. Please also note that the film titles are taken directly from Schaefer's own labels, which is why many are abbreviated.

The research laboratory at General Electric was the launching pad for some of Vincent Schaefer's most pivotal scientific work. This series contains research notes, photographs, reports (published and unpublished, internal and external), and correspondence relating to all of his more famous experiments as well as a range of lesser-known work accomplished during his years at the G.E. Research Laboratory in Schenectady. The materials cover topics such as smoke/artificial fog generation, surface chemistry, studies of ice and snow particles, and early cloud seeding. The series is divided according to areas of specific interest to Schaefer as well as correspondence and publications.

In 1952, General Electric published its own "History of Project Cirrus", compiled by Barrington Havens of G.E.'s public relations department. In his introduction, he writes that "[Project Cirrus] was very complex, with a number of subdivisions associated with the main activity. Some of these subdivisions ran consecutively, some operated in parallel, and others intertwined or branched off in variously divergent directions." This preface is relevant to Schaefer's own collection of materials because the "intertwined" nature of Cirrus itself, as well as its roots in Schaefer and Langmuir's previous work, sometimes made it difficult for the archivist to separate Project Cirrus documents from materials that related to cloud seeding efforts but were not strictly part of the work done under the government contract that defined Project Cirrus.

Around the time of Schaefer's break with Munitalp, the American Meteorological Society (AMS, of which Schaefer was a member) approached him to inquire about the possibility of setting up a summer science program for promising high school students. They decided on the existing Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut as the location for their summer program, which began in 1959 with the support of the National Science Foundation. Schaefer and his colleagues wanted to give academically strong students with a particular interest in science the opportunity to attend extra lectures and, more importantly, experiment with hands-on projects of their choosing. Schaefer and his AMS associates hoped to cultivate a love of learning and passion for discovery that would encourage teens to follow scientific career paths. Although the program began as a males-only endeavor, it eventually welcomed females into its ranks later in the 1960s.

Vincent Schaefer's first contact with the Munitalp Foundation came in the early 1950s around the time that Project Cirrus was winding down. The day-to-day routine in the research lab at General Electric was changing from the way it was in the days of Willis Whitney, so in 1951 Schaefer began scaling back his hours at G.E. to collaborate with Munitalp's board of trustees. By 1954, Schaefer was ready to make a complete break from G.E. to become Munitalp's director of research.

In 1964 The Institute on Man and Science in Rensselaerville, New York invited Vincent Schaefer to serve on the faculty of scientists and humanists for its July summer program. Established in 1962 as an educational center to encourage life-long learning and explore ideas about human problems, the Institute changed its name in the 1980s to The Rensselaerville Institute to reflect its broader focus on local self–help programs, small town revitalization efforts, innovation in government, and cultural and educational programs. The Institute remains in existence today. In addition to Schaefer, participants and faculty of the Institute on Man and Science included a Supreme Court Justice, Nobel Prize recipients, award-winning authors, scientists, economists, and a former Secretary-General of the United Nations.