The fonds is divided into two separate sous-fonds. The first consists of Belshaw's personal papers, which chronicle both his involvement in numerous local, national and international organizations (including the Academic Board for Higher Education in British Columbia, the Regional Training Centre for United Nations Fellows, the Social Science Research Council of Canada, the Pacific Sciences Association, UNESCO, and the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association), and his teaching and administrative activities at UBC. The second sous-fonds consists of editorial files and related materials accumulated as a result of Belshaw's role as editor of the journal, Current Anthropology. The materials in both groups of records include correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, course materials, publications, manuscripts, and financial statements.