The Harold Wright Cruse Papers hold the documents, correspondences, photographs, and ephemeral materials of scholar and writer Harold Wright Cruse. This collection consists of twelve series: Personal Papers, Correspondence, University of Michigan, Harold Wright Cruse Writings, Speaking Engagements, Organizations, Research Files, Ephemera, Writings by Others, Printed and Published Materials, Photographs, and Audiovisual. The Personal Papers consist of materials that span from Cruse's career as a journalist and film technician to his monumental trip to Cuba. The remaining series cover Cruse's time as a lecturer and scholar at various institutions and organizations.

The Ephemera collection holds personal and professional materials that relate to Cruse's family, friends and professional acquaintances. The Photographs collection holds photographs ranging from the 1940s to the 1990s of Cruse inside and outside of the classroom, family, friends, and contemporaries.