Arrangement of the collection is in series as follows:

Series 1: A-Z Miscellaneous; Series 2: Performers; Series 3: Biographical and Recordings Classification; Series 4: Festivals; Series 5: Radio Stations; Series 6: Record Companies; Series 7: Renfro Valley; Series 8: Subject Files; Series 9: Locators; Series 10: Sound Recordings

The collecting activity reflected in this collection began in the early 1950s and continued well into the 1970s. After Rueben Powell’s 1968 retirement from work as chief utility engineer at Wright Patterson Airforce Base in Ohio, Powell and his wife Retha started the Renfro Valley Tape Club as a means of sharing the fruits of his collecting with other country music fans. Its appeal was particularly substantial among Powell's contemporaries who were disenchanted with the then newer country music expressions that they perceived as sounding too modern. At the club's height, Powell was circulating reel-to-reel tape copies of early commercial recordings and radio programs to a membership that represented most states and ten foreign countries.

In his collecting Powell focused mainly on the country music and musicians prominent during the period 1930 to 1950. He was especially interested in performers having Kentucky connections and any associated with such radio programs as the National Barn Dance and the Renfro Valley Barn Dance.