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The Central Files series contains the general correspondence of the Office of the Vice President from Nelson A. Rockefeller's tenure (December 19, 1974, to January 20, 1977). The series offers partial documentation of Rockefeller's role in the development of national policy and his duties as President of the U.S. Senate. There is correspondence with President Gerald R. Ford and members of his staff, congressional representatives, senators, other government officials, and foreign dignitaries. However, there is very little in this series documenting actual policy formation. Much of the correspondence with government officials concerns the Vice President's information-gathering activities on behalf of the White House and executive agencies, as well as his support of the President's policies. There are also reports and position papers on national issues submitted to the Vice President by individuals both within and outside the federal government. Virtually all of these were unsolicited.

This series contains a portion of the office files of Arthur Massolo, who served in the Appointments Office during Nelson A. Rockefeller's third gubernatorial term. This incomplete selection of papers is composed entirely of correspondence with individuals seeking employment in the Rockefeller administration. As Assistant Appointments Officer to the Governor, Massolo forwarded the correspondence to the appropriate department. Massolo often included cover memoranda with recommendations on the individuals to the directors, commissioners, or secretaries of the many New York State departments.

This series contains Nelson A. Rockefeller's correspondence with private individuals and representatives of institutions and governments in 87 foreign countries. With some exceptions, this material consists mainly of financial appeals from individuals and institutions. Appeals from individuals include requests for money for such things as starting a business, traveling to the United States, or publishing a book. The range of institutions includes churches, universities, health centers, and businesses. Because Mr. Rockefeller followed his family's philanthropic tradition of aiding people through institutions rather than individually, nearly all of the personal appeals were declined. Only those institutional appeals that fell within Mr. Rockefeller's areas of interest were favorably answered. Most of the declination letters were written by members of Mr. Rockefeller's staff on his behalf.

This series contains a variety of material pertaining to Nelson Rockefeller's time as a politician, statesman, and public servant. The six subseries cover a broad spectrum of Rockefeller's involvement in political affairs, both on the state level and within the national arena. The majority of the series covers Rockefeller's tenure as Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. A range of public issues are represented in the series, primarily in the first subseries.

This series comprises files about broad categories of items owned by Nelson A. Rockefeller, ranging from his automobiles and boats to his porcelains and honorary degrees. Researchers interested in his china, porcelain, and glass collections will also want to review Series C of his personal papers, which relates to his art collection.