The Wilbur "Buck" Clayton Collection was donated to LaBudde Special Collections by Clayton's wife, Patricia. The collection, which spans from 1928 to Clayton’s death in 1991, contains material related to the jazz composer/arranger/trumpeter’s personal and professional life. The collection was acquired in two parts: August 1997 and August 2000. Both parts (formerly MS15 and MS25) have since been consolidated into one collection (MS15).

Materials in the first accession include correspondence, contracts, photographs, negatives, printed and handwritten manuscripts, band arrangements, awards, sound recordings, sheet music, and assorted ephemera. The second accession consists of music manuscripts complementing those received in the first accession. Included also are instrumental part scores of Clayton’s “Swinging Dream Band” arrangements.The wealth of the collection is the music manuscripts dating from 1960, which represent Clayton’s creative musical output.

The audiovisual collection contains reel to reel tapes, 45s, and lacquer discs recordings. These recordings are master copies of original recordings, interviews, and live recordings. Audiovisual materials are housed in the Marr Sound Archives.