This collection has been divided into three series: Correspondence, 1963 – 1970, Congressional Records, 1963 – 1970, and Miscellaneous, 1963 – 1969.

Congressional, 1963 – 1970

These documents contain letters to and from Erdahl to his constituents in Faribault County and other residents of Minnesota. These documents comprise the majority of this collection and cover a variety of topics ranging from abortion to daylight savings time.

Congressional Records, 1963 – 1970

The congressional records pertain to Erdahl’s activities within the House of Representatives. Some of the bills Erdahl wrote and sponsored are in this series.

Miscellaneous, 1963 – 1970

This series contains a diverse variety of information. For instance, while working under a grant from the Bush Leaders Fellowship at Harvard University, Erdahl conducted a research project into the Non-Partisan Legislatures of Minnesota and Nebraska. Additionally, this series has a few birthday and anniversary cards exchanged between Arlen and Ellen, his wife, Erdahl. The remainder of this section contains a variety of newspaper clippings and news releases about Erdahl’s legislative career along with campaign materials from his successful bid for the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office in 1970.