CIS Publications contains Annual Reports, Bulletins, Guide to the Exhibits, and Newsletters. These reflect the original nine fields of inquiry and administration, activities at the Institute, and administrative policy and activities.

The Annual Reports and Newsletters are still in publication as of 2023, but the Bulletins and Guide to the Exhibits have ceased to publish. With the exception of the Guide to the Exhibits, the collection contains a long duration of publication since the establishment of the CIS in 1930.

SERIES I: Annual Reports (1930-1990) contain the administrative function of the Institute throughout the year and set the goals for the coming year.

SERIES II: Bulletins (1931-1999) are the published scientific research of staff and others associated with the Institute. These range from pamphlets to hardbound monographs.

SERIES III: Guides to the Exhibits (1940-1960) describe the permanent exhibits in the Institute and their history. While publication spans twenty years, it was sporadic, therefore the collection contains issues from the following years: 1940, 1941, 1945, 1947, 1951, 1956, 1960.

SERIES IV: Newsletters (1931-2004) were published up to nine times a year and describe the current and upcoming activities of the Institute for member readership. Since 1993, with volume 63, the newsletters have been published under the title Science Scope. Although the CIS discontinued the use of volume numbers on newsletters after volume 69, the Archives has kept the practice for inventorying purposes.