The scrapbooks contain, in addition to newspaper clippings, such items as letters, programs, brochures, minutes, agendas, press releases and newsletters. They document the period 1939-1976 and are arranged chronologically.

The bulk of the materials in the first six volumes are from the Yellow Jacket, the St. Mathews High School student newspaper where Dent was associate editor, (1944-1945), editor-in-chief (1946-1947) and sports editor (1947) and from the Blue Stocking, Presbyterian College's student newspaper where he was sports editor (1947-1948), editor (1948-1949), "office boy" (1949-1950), managing editor (1950-1951) and contributing editor (1951).

The other volumes in this series, while primarily biographical, also include information on state, national and international events of interest to Dent. Subjects include U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, South Carolina elections, U.S. presidential elections (1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976), the South Carolina and national Republican Party, the "southern strategy," school desegregation and civil rights. Additional copies of the Yellow Jacket from 1949-1950 can be found in the Oversize series.