Series have been imposed by archivists for better grouping of materials. Unless otherwise noted, the order and arrangement the materials were received in has been maintained within each series.

This collection is divided into the following series:

Series I. Biographical Information, 1949-1973

Series II. Academic Files, 1930-1974. This series has been divided into further sub-series by subject:

Sub-Series A. Academic Activities and Affairs, 1935-1973. This sub-series includes files from Herrick's time as an instructor and professor at UCLA, including budgets, public and university service, appointment and promotional committees, and the UCLA space program. This sub-series also includes papers on the faculty senate, the Guggenheim Fellowship, letters of appreciation to Herrick, patents, and complimentary reviews of Herrick's publications.

Sub-Series B. Correspondence, 1931-1972, consists of correspondence with faculty, university departments, and schools such as UCLA and Berkeley. It also includes correspondence with Robert H. Goddard, American professor, engineer, physicist, and inventor.

Sub-Series C. Course Materials, 1948-1974, is made up of materials from courses Herrick taught, such as History of Astrodynamics, Fundamental Astronomy, and short co0urses in astrodynamics. These include notes, course outlines, syllabi, exams and exercises, flash cards and practice problems, and course evaluations.

Sub-Series D. S.H. Students' Dissertations, Theses, and Comprehensive Exams, 1965-1973. This sub-series includes work by students Herrick taught. Their work includes drafts and completed dissertations, theses, and comprehensive exams.

Sub-Series E. Williams College, 1930-1969, consists of materials from Herrick's time as an undergraduate student at Williams College. This includes Herrick's course notes, papers, and outlines.

Series III. Correspondence, 1930-1973. This series is arranged alphabetically according to who Herrick was corresponding with.

Series IV. Consulting, 1940-1966

Series V. Presentations and Lectures, 1955-1964

Series VI. Professional Societies, 1925-1973. Materials in this series have been listed in alphabetical order for ease of use.

Series VII. Publications, including Reprints and Drafts, 1932-1973. This series has been divided into sub-series according to the original arrangement of materials:

Sub-Series A. "S" series of files, chiefly reprints of articles, 1939-1970, includes reprints of articles by others that were identified as "S" series by Herrick. These articles and papers are on topics such as comets, grid navigation, orbits, and advancements in the field of astrodynamics. The files are numbered sequentially, maintaining the original order, and there are a number of folders with an "S" number, but no title.

Sub-Series B. Article Reprints, 1906-1973, includes reprints of articles and technical papers by others. These files are organized alphabetically by author name and include topics such as celestial mechanics, orbits, and the space sciences.

Sub-Series C. SH Publications, 1957-1972, consists of notes, drafts, and revisions of Herrick's Astrodynamics. It also includes errata, vellums, research reports, and bibliography materials.

Sub-Series D. SH Numbered Publications (also see listing in Box 1), 1932-1972. This sub-series is made up of Herrick's publications numbers 1 through 233. They are numbered in accordance with his bibliography (located in Box 1) and include drafts and reprints of his work, as well as correspondence relating to it. Topics include orbit methods, comet observations, position determination, celestial navigation, planetary grids, ephemeris of minor planets and objects, rocket trajectories, space travel, lunar exploration, astronomical values, and advancements in astrodynamics.

Sub-Series E. Drafts of Articles and Book Chapters, 1944-1971, includes additional notes and drafts of articles and book chapters, such as Herrick's Contribution to CRC "Handbook of Tables for Mathematics," 1965-1966, Gibb's Contribution to Orbit Theory, and Herrick's review of Einstein books. It also contains correspondence related to Herrick's drafts and publications.

Series VIII. Manuscript Calculations, 1948-1973. This series largely maintains the order it was received. Materials relating to Halley's Comet and (1566) Icarus have been grouped together for ease of use.

Series IX. Computer Printouts, 1965-1973

Series X. Card Files, n.d. This series has been separated into four parts to maintain the original order and separation of materials.

Series XI. Subject Files, 1924-1981. With the exception of general subject files, this series has been further divided into the following sub-series:

Sub-Series A. Aeronutronics Systems Division (ASD), 1956-1960, includes numbered files on various technical and organization matters, proposals, and projects. They are part of Herrick's series of Aeronutronic Systems Division-Ford files. Topics include, but are not limited to, a project planning committee, orbits for Vargo-Boeing, Navy direction presentation, and geodetic position determination.

Sub-Series B. Computers and Electronic Calculations, 1947-1967, includes manuals on early computers such as EDVAC and ZEPHYR, Monroe calculator, SWAC memoranda, coding sheets, differential analyzer operation and problems, and Technical Study #3.

Sub-Series C. Mathematics, 1931-1975, consists of materials relating to mathematical techniques, including Chebyshev polynomials, Hansen's method of general perturbations, numerical analysis and integration, data smoothing, theoretical mechanics, Encke's method, astronomical and gravitational constants, and universal variables.

Sub-Series D. Minor Planets and Objects, 1929-1983, has been divided further. Materials in this sub-series and its divisions have been alphabetized.

• The Betulia Files contain materials relating to the asteroid (1580) Betulia, named for Samuel Herrick's wife, Betulia Toro Herrick. This includes an article, calculations, correspondence, ephemerides, numerical integration, observations, elements, oppositions, and representations.
• The Icarus Files contain materials relating to the near-Earth object (1566) Icarus, including ephemerides, residuals, correspondence, history and facts, observations, orbit graphs, and publications.
• The Geographos Files contain materials relating to the asteroid (1620) Geographos, including early Encke orbit files, elements, ellipse graphs, ephemerides, general information, publicity, variation of parameters, and possible exploration.
• The Jupiter IX and Jupiter XII Files contain materials relating to Jupiter IX (an irregular satellite of Jupiter now known as Sinope) and Jupiter XII (an irregular moon of Jupiter now known as Ananke). This includes Cowell integrations, ephemeris, graphs, basic calculations, history, general information, variation of constants, observations and representations, and publicity.
• Items not included in the above files consist of materials relating to other minor planets and objects, such as Lanzia, the Swift comet, and the Wilson object. This includes graphs and calculations, articles, observations, general information, history, ephemerides, opposition graphs, formulae, and procedures. Also included are Minor Planet Center Notices 151 through 2800, and 3535 through 3602.