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While working for Ove Arup, Kemp researched I.K. Brunel and the construction of the Renkioi Hospital during the Crimean War in Turkey. Brunel also surveyed the Great Western Railway, where he suggested using cable technology to navigate steep passages that the rail cars might not be able to mount unassisted. The cable-based incline technology was fundamental in designing two Pittsburgh inclines. While serving on the ASCE's Committee for the History and Heritage of American Civil Engineering, Kemp deliberated about granting National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark status to the inclines. The box includes materials from both parts of Kemp's career, including handwritten notes, typewritten notes, articles, correspondence, Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks nomination forms, brochures, clippings, records from the state legislature, reports, scholarly journal articles and photographic prints. The box also includes facsimiles of the following: correspondence, scholarly journal articles, clippings, press releases, book excerpts, budget lists, and engineering drawings. Subjects include I.K. Brunel, Renkioi Hospital, canal tunnels, British canals (especially the Huddersfield Narrow Canal), and the Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines in Pittsburgh. The following oversize items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 15, Folder 3: 55 sheets of facsimile report (undated), 1 map (undated), 1 clipping (1983), and 1 engineering drawing (1857).

Kemp researched canals. The box includes pamphlets, memorandums, facsimile articles, magazine excerpts, HAER report, correspondence, diagrams, photos, and a book. Subjects include canals in New York, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic Sea Coast. Subjects also include the C&O Canal's Conococheague Creek Aqueduct in Williamsport, Washington County, Maryland; the Schuylkill Navigation Company Lock #39; New York locks; pioneer boats; and transportation on the Upper James River. The following oversize materials were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 4, Folder 4: four pamphlets (1983 and undated), five maps (1978-1998 and undated), eight sheets of clippings (undated).

Kemp and the IHTIA consulted on a number of restoration projects. This box contains materials from the Ross Hatfield House and Garage renovation in Mannington, Marion County, West Virginia (1999); the move of the Putnam-Houser House ("Maple Shade") from Belpre, Washington County, Ohio to Blennerhassett Historical Park on Blennerhassett Island in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia (1986); restoration of the McFarland-Hubbard House in Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia (1999); exhibit development at the Intermodal Transportation Center in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia (undated); the Basque Ship investigation in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1999); the development of the National Bridge Museum and Research Center in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia (1998); lighting for the Wheeling Suspension Bridge (1996-1997); the rehabilitation of the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California (1982); and a survey of the Mowersville Road Bridge in Mowersville, Franklin County, Pennsylvania (1998). The box includes notes, clippings, correspondence, newsletters, reports, edited drafts of reports, photographic slides, images of pigments, lists of contacts, programs for events, budget lists, journal articles, transparencies, bibliographies, and photographic prints. The box also includes facsimiles of the following: engineering drawings, notes, clippings, correspondence, photographic prints, book excerpts, event programs and posters, budgets, maps, and illustrations. Subjects include the preservation of woods and metals, bridge preservation and restoration, historic house preservation and restoration, and the interpretation of historical industrial spaces. Each folder contains materials from a different consulting project. The following oversize items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 15, Folder 2: two engineering drawings (1996-1999).

Kemp consulted on the preservation of the Fairmont Pedestrian Bridge while working for A.G. Lichtenstein & Associates and restored the Alexander House as part of his business, Kemp Custom Building. Box includes correspondence, facsimile book excerpts, brochures, photographs, reports, clippings and newsletters. Subjects includes suspension bridges in the United States; the Alexander House; bridges of Edinburgh, Scotland; railroad structures and industrialization. The following oversized items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 7, Folder 5: one clipping (2007), one brochure (undated).

Kemp co-wrote the book Cement Mills along the Potomac River with Thomas F. Hahn. The box includes preparation for the book, such as documents from the research process and studies of structures built with natural cement. The box includes correspondence, essay drafts, clippings, brochures, handwritten notes, curriculum vitae, magazines, photographic prints, engineering drawings, and reports. The box also includes facsimiles of the following: clippings, handwritten notes, photographic prints, correspondence, drawings, engineering drawings, maps, photographic prints and book excerpts. Subjects include the natural cement industry; mills along the Potomac Valley; limes; concretes; hydraulic mortar and lime; the Alexandria Canal; Maskell C. Ewing; William Turbull; cement kilns; the history of Shepherdstown, West Virginia; the Shepherdstown Cement Mill in Shepherdstown, West Virginia; Saylor Park Cement Industry Museum in Coplay, Pennsylvania; and the C&O Canal. The following oversize items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 13, Folder 2: 1 brochure (undated), 1 map (undated), and three sheets of clippings (1985).

Kemp maintained research files on bridges and engineering. The box includes facsimile book excerpts and facsimile engineering drawings. Subjects include railroad bridges, truss bridges, historic structures, the history of civil engineering and mechanics.

Kemp collected drawings and card-mounted photographs as pictorial reference for research. Subjects include structures from Europe and the United States, including bridges, railroad bridges, canals, cathedrals, lighthouses, mills, rivers, and turpentine distillery. The Antietam mills, B&O Railroad, Erie Canal, Menai Strait, Schuylkill River, Susquehanna River, the city of Conway, Wales and the city of Wheeling, West Virginia each appear in multiple drawings.

Kemp collected drawings as pictorial reference for research. Subjects include structures from Europe and the United States, including bridges, railroad bridges, villages, coal towns and piers. The Conway Tubular Bridge in Conway, Wales and the city of Richmond, Virginia both appear in multiple drawings.