This series consists primarily of notebooks and diaries Gisborne generated during his periods of field research. The series also includes a file of materials from Gisborne's military service during World War I. Military documents include enlistment papers, letters of reference for assignment to a specialist's position, dispatch messages, his discharge paper, and a French map. Field research documents include a personal reference book that ranges from conversion charts he maintained for quick reference, to research protocols he developed to address field conditions and challenges, to personal entries. Field diaries exhibit an array of entries ranging from weather conditions, research unit observations, travel expenditures, and ranger district meeting notes. Most of the materials in this series are in delicate condition, particularly the field notes booklets.

This series contains Gisborne's writings as well as correspondences that he collected himself. Mike Hardy, the original processor, hand wrote estimated dates onto many documents, but not all of his dates can be verified. General correspondence files contain materials ranging over a variety of topics and reflect short-term exchanges. Extended correspondence exchanges on a specific topic are grouped by individual folders following the general correspondence sequence. It is unclear whether Gisborne or Mike Hardy made these grouping decisions. During 2003 reprocessing, a decision was made to maintain the file organization structure and file titles inherited at the time of donation to Archives and Special Collections.

This series also includes several files of correspondence with particular individuals over an extended period of time. These files are followed by a sequence of materials originally labeled as "Miscellaneous Correspondence." Most of these materials consist of Forest Service memos and performance reviews. During reprocessing in 2003, a decision was made to maintain this organization due to provenance; however, archives staff added the range of correspondent's names in each file. Gisborne's correspondence with fellow members of the Society of American Foresters reveals significant insights into his professional activities outside of the Forest Service, concerns for professional standards in forestry, and style of interpersonal contact.

This series contains forest fire and fire research materials written and co-written by Harry T. Gisborne including internal memoranda, internal policy advocacy papers, academic lecture scripts, Forest Service research publications, draft and final versions for professional journal articles, article reviews, and a few documents for mainstream media publications.

This series consists of materials Gisborne collected or helped generate and relate directly to his professional research for the U.S. Forest Service. Materials include internal Forest Service memos; handwritten notes; data charts and graphs; instrument design proposals; bibliographic notes; and unattributed Forest Service reports, summaries, and publications. This series exhibits the depth and breadth of research precision Gisborne helped instill within the Forest Service research branch and fire sciences in particular. Materials are grouped into broad reference categories: "Fire Research: General," Fire "Behavior," "Fire Control Planning," "Lightning Study," "Weather Modification," "Weather Forecasting," and "Non-fire Research." It is unknown whether or not Gisborne is the person responsible for creating this reference structure.

This series contains materials Gisborne generated for and collected from many of the professional forestry conferences he attended. Some folders include internal memos Gisborne wrote to provide coworkers with a summary of conference discussions and/or formally encapsulate his extemporaneous comments given during the meetings.

This series contains articles written by other authors and collected by Gisborne during his on-going research, including U.S. Forest Service documents and publications that are attributed to specific authors. Most of the materials relate directly to fire management and prediction; however, a few articles range into subjects of personal interest. Several articles exhibit Gisborne's reactions and commentary handwritten in the margins (denoted by the phrase "HTG margin notes" in the content description). The series is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the author.

This series includes photographs primarily generated during Gisborne's professional fire research activities as well as three files of photograph logs and notes.

Materials in this series were predominantly photographed at the Priest River Experimental Station, particularly those depicting instruments, lookouts, buildings, and research facilities. Numerous duplicates prints were discovered during 2003 reprocessing. Duplicate prints were assigned the same photograph number and retained with the original print. For nearly all of the materials in this series, photographic credits could not be established as photographic work was conducted by non-professional Forest Service staff. However, whenever photographic credits could be definitively established such is reflected in the content descriptions. Of particular note, Arthur L. Roe photographed the Lick Creek Fire research materials on Sept. 16, 1947.