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Paper records including programs from Delegate Assemblies, contract booklets, pocket calendars, universitas [scholarly journal type of publication], and various brochures, advertisements, bumper stickers, and publications. Non-paper records include lapel pins, delegate name badges, legislative giveaways, buttons, t-shirts, canvas bags, and other three-dimensional artifacts. Some of the paper records in this series, such as the Delegate Assembly programs and contract booklets, duplicate the materials found in the respective series within Subgroup IV, Office of the Secretary, and Subgroup VI, Labor Relations--Negotiations. There is also some overlap between the materials in this series and those in Series 3 of this Subgroup, "Publications". This series also includes oversized versions of some of the legislative ad campaigns in Subseries 3.1.

This series is made up of files related to the founding, organization and management of the Society. It includes the society's bylaws, meeting minutes, programs for conferences organized by the Society, various contracts with the University at Albany, SUNY, budget documentation, the Society's song, and documentation on various conferences and proposed conferences organized by the Society. There are also several files containing correspondence between members of the society and outside individuals. Additionally, this series contains instructions, promotional material and a board for the society's "Beer Game," a board game designed to introduce people to general concepts in system dynamics.

This series is made up of the membership lists maintained by the System Dynamic Society. It contains membership lists for every year between 1984 and 2002, excluding 1994.

This series is made up of marketing materials created for and distributed by the society. This includes promotional mailers, conference brochures and schedules, and commemorative pens.

This series is made up of copies of the Society's newsletter, called the President's Newsletter. Over its history, the newsletter was generally published either annually or biannually depending on society activities. It covers past and upcoming conferences, publications by members and society sponsorship information.

This series is made up of the collection's photographs and negatives. They appear to have been taken at various System Dynamics International Conferences. Also included are several photographs of Jay Forrester, a pioneer in the field of system dynamics.

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.

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.

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.

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."