Jane Malin's parents, James C. and Betty Malin, lived in Lawrence, Kansas. They wrote to Malin telling her about events at the University of Kansas (KU) and in Lawrence. Each parent typically wrote their own letter to her, sending it separately from the other parent's letters. They included newsclippings from the Lawrence Journal World and from the University Daily Kansan, as well as programs from events they attended at KU and at other venues in Lawrence.

In their letters, the Malins described day-to-day activities including the weather, gardening, shopping, clothes and jewelry making, television programs, and health. They also discussed current events taking place locally and nationally, for example the rise of counterculture in the 1960s, riots, Apollo 11, and segregation. They talked about local notable people, including Governor Docking, Chancellor Wescoe, and other KU officials. Dr. James C. Malin wrote about his research and fellow historians. They lived on University Drive near campus and frequently mentioned their neighbors and the development of the neighborhood.

Several of Betty's letters dating from the 1940s to Malin are written in shorthand--a method of rapid writing by means of abbreviations and symbols. Typically, Jane Wofford Malin is referred to as "JW" by her parents. The parents sign their letters either "Betty" or "JCM." The letters are usually typed, but in later years, James hand-wrote notes more frequently. There are only a few letters written to Malin from Betty after James died.

The correspondence is arranged chronologically by year in folders, but not by month and day. Newsclippings or other enclosures that came with the correspondence is in the same folder as the correspondence, often placed in archival enclosures.