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Series 1: Manuscripts, 1930-2015, includes manuscripts authored by Gabbin and her colleagues. The majority of the series is made up of edits and drafts of the anthology manuscript that would be come to known as Shaping Memories: Reflections of African American Women Writers. This manuscript would be the culmination of works by Gabbin and her colleagues after their annual Wintergreen Women's Writer's retreat. Also of note in this series is Gabbin's dissertation on Sterling Brown, written during her time at the University of Chicago as she pursued her master's degree and PhD.

Series 5: Personal Papers, 1967-2016, is made up of two subseries: general personal materials and personal correspondence. Personal items cover a variety of material, which include: essays written by Gabbin when she was a student at Morgan State College and the University of Chicago (some marked up by her professors), drafted manuscripts, and a folder containing numerous drafts and illustrations for her children's book I Bet She Called Me Sugar Plum. The personal correspondence is made up of letters written to Gabbin from former students she has had over the years (seen through numerous holiday cards and announcements), from collaborators on the manuscripts she has worked on over the years, or notes and letters written to her husband Alexander Gabbin as she attended the University of Chicago.

Series 6: Printed Ephemera and Photographs, 1961-2013, comprises chiefly newsletters, newspapers, and pamphlets. Most of the newspapers are national titles, such as the Washington Post, with the Daily News-Record also being represented. Most of the articles center on events concerning African American issues. Of interest is a small pamphlet entitled "Race and Psychology," dated 1961, in which the author details the history of psychological intelligence tests and how different racial/ethnic groups scored in comparison to each other. This series also contains several folders of photographs, documenting Gabbin's personal and professional life. Photographs of poets Rita Dove, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Nikki Giovanni are included.

Series 3: Professional Activities, 1963-2017, comprises three subseries: general material, materials relating to the honors college at JMU, and material related to the Furious Flower Poetry Center. The items in this series relate to Gabbin's numerous speaking engagements and events held by the poetry center and honors college. This can include professional correspondence, promotional material, and invitations and programs to events held over the years.

Series 2: Research, 1960-2016, includes a wide variety of materials that relate to Gabbin's research during her time as a student in the master's and doctorate program at the University of Chicago and research for the manuscripts she wrote and contributed to later in her life. The content mostly consists of articles from academic journals and books written on the subject at hand (e.g. Sonia Sanchez and Sterling Brown), with some interesting items including legal pads and spiral notebooks containing personal notes and thoughts on the topic being researched.

Series 4: Teaching Materials, 1971-2013, includes items related to Joanne Gabbin's teaching career at James Madison University. The majority of this series comprises syllabi from the English classes Gabbin taught, all relating to Black Literature. Scattered throughout the series are also course evaluations, in which the majority of her students give her high marks for her enthusiasm for the material and accessible teaching style, and miscellaneous pedagogical materials likely used to inform instruction.