The courses of study, or curriculum guides, in the Center's collection were produced by state, county, municipal or district agencies in the U.S. and its territories for grades K-12. The Center's holdings are predominantly from the 20th century, although there are some courses of study from the 19th century; all subjects are included.

The collection is comprised of about 23,000 volumes and occupies 1300 linear feet. These materials were deposited by member libraries, or as a part of the U.S. State Documents collection.

The courses of study are not cataloged, but are arranged on the shelf by state, geographic entity within the state, subject, date of publication and title.