The Cheryl Crawford Papers document her career in theater from almost the beginning in the 1920s through the years immediately preceding the sale of her collection to the University of Houston. Items date between 1862 and 1981, with the bulk of the items dated 1940 through 1978. There are 3,335 items in the collection.

The collection includes correspondence, production materials, scripts, programs, playbills, audio tapes, posters, sheet music, sound recordings, clippings, budgets, tax returns, legal agreements, contracts, audits, reviews, speeches, and miscellaneous items such as postcards and receipts.

The series are arranged as follows: Correspondence, Productions, Scripts, Programs, Playbills, Serials, Audio Tapes, Sheet Music, Sound Recordings, a General series for miscellaneous items, and Posters. The finding aid includes a complete container listing. Item listings of correspondence, production materials, playbills, programs, and general items are available upon request.

Some printed items have been removed from the collection and incorporated into the library's cataloged holdings. These materials include books and some sheet music. The materials can be found by searching for "Cheryl Crawford Collection" in the UH Libraries catalog.