The Louis J. Gallagher, SJ, President's Office records contain correspondence, contracts, ephemera, memorandums, reports, photographs, drawings, and plans documenting the work of Louis J. Gallagher as the seventeenth president of Boston College. The collection dates from 1920 to 1945, though the bulk of the items date from the years of Gallagher's presidency, 1932 to 1937.

Like many of his predecessors, Gallagher maintained correspondence regarding buildings and grounds of Boston College, including contracts and building schemas. Early in Gallagher's presidency, the Brown family donated an estate in Cohasset that fell under his care; the series contains news about the transfer. Other notable items include a letter and photographs of the Lawrence Farm from William Lawrence, Episcopal Bishop of Boston, whose father Amos sold their estate to Boston College. The second series also includes correspondence about the Saint Francis Xavier letter purchase and the establishment of the School of Social Work, a number of contracts, such as that of football coach Gilmour Dobie, and a plaque showcasing the signature of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII.

The National Youth Administration series contains materials related to financial aid for Boston College students during the Great Depression. Material types include memorandums, correspondence, bulletins, implementation instructions, and forms, and are written by members of federal and state emergency relief administrations, the Works Progress Administration, and Boston College.

Also included in the records are reports from when Gallagher accompanied Edmund A. Walsh, SJ, to Russia. They collected testimony and reports regarding military and government operations as members of the Vatican Relief Mission. The reports document statements from members of the Japanese and Russian military and references to American forces and the Red Cross.

The papers also consist of records of the Museum of Anthropology established during Gallagher's time as president. The majority of these materials are correspondence between Joseph J. Williams, SJ and missionaries abroad concerning the acquisition of artifacts for the museum. Also included are photographs of a few of the items collected, such as coins and shark teeth, as well as a couple of artifacts, like a woven mat of pandanus leaves from Samoa, and a multilingual Ave Maria prayer book from what is now Vanuatu. Photographs and site drawings from the Lebanese archaeological site Ksar Akil are also included.