This collections includes the research materials Geoffrey Austrian used to write Herman Hollerith: Forgotten Giant of Information Processing. Austrian's research includes notes from interviews with Hollerith family members and copies of materials from the IBM archives and other repositories, including the New York Public Library.

The collection is arranged into three series: Biography note cards; Backup research files; and Other research files.

Biography note cards are 3" x 5" note cards of Austrian’s research notes arranged chronologically.

Backup research files constitutes the majority of Austrian’s research on the life and work of Herman Hollerith. It contains notable items such as correspondence with Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. The research notes come from the papers of Herman Hollerith in the Library of Congress, and collections at the archives of Harvard University, IBM, the National Records Center, the Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Co., the National Archives, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Western Electric Co. File folders are labeled by subject and arranged alphabetically.

Other research files contains materials that were not specifically identified by Austrian as being either biography note cards or backup research files. Series includes correspondence about the progress of Herman Hollerith, material removed from a binder, photographs of Herman Hollerith, his family, and his designs, as well as additional miscellaneous material.