The New York Series of Columbia's Joseph Urban Collection is arranged chronologically within five subseries: Theater, Ziegfeld Productions, Metropolitan Opera, Film, and Architecture and Design. The series are preceded by a listing of general files in which photograph scrapbooks, clippings scrapbooks and Square Yard Books are followed by undated and unidentified files. The clippings scrapbooks are the major source for Urban's New York career and document some projects and activities not found in the archive. The square yard books contain drawings and measurements of set pieces for opera, theater and film sets. There is very little documentation in the form of letters, contracts, and financial accounts. Numerous photographs of sets and set models are to be found but production photographs are rare.

The complete finding aid (series 1-5) is also available.