The May Tangen papers date from 1961 to 1982 and measure one linear inch. They consist of annual Christmas letters written to friends along with notes written specifically to John and Joetta Stanley, who donated this collection.

In her annual Christmas letters, called the "Tangen Tribune," May Tangen discussed everything from her unsuccessful attempts to write a novel, to her time teaching Sunday school in Iowa. As the war in Vietnam progressed, Tangen wrote about her participation in peace vigils and her strong commitment to pacifism and civil rights. Initially, she thought she might go to Vietnam to teach but an "urgent need" for librarians at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi changed her plans. While living in Holly Springs, Tangen attended NAACP meetings in the community and was active in the Asbury United Methodist Church, where she was a Big Sister to two children in the congregation. Tangen's letters from Holly Springs reflect her commitment to living in a racially integrated society. The collection contains one letter from Joetta and John Stanley, written in 1963.

The later letters concern her travels to Norway and England, and her subsequent life in Fort Dodge.

The collection contains one photograph of Tangen with her Sunday school class at St. Mark's Church in Iowa City in 1961. One folder of duplicate materials from the University of Iowa Archives concerns RILEEH Rust, Iowa, LeMoyne for Expanding Educational Horizons, a partnership between the University of Iowa and two historically black colleges formed in the early sixties. The University of Iowa Archives holds additional materials about RILEEH.