The Memoranda for the record series contains a set of minutes of McNamara's meetings with Bank staff, US representatives, and other visitors from outside the Bank. The memoranda generally were prepared by the Personal Assistant to McNamara, but there are also some memoranda of conversations drafted by McNamara and reports prepared by members of other departments in the Bank; some of the minutes are copies of minutes of the President's Council or the Policy Review Committee meetings. Background material, including notes and figures in McNamara's handwriting, sometimes accompanies the memoranda.

Meetings with Bank staff involve Vice-Presidents and Senior Vice-Presidents, the General Counsel and his Associate, the Secretary, Advisors and Special Assistants, Department Directors and the Executive Secretary of the Development Committee. Memoranda of meetings with the Staff Association are also included. Topics discussed with staff include the Bank's lending programs and budget, financial operations, organization and procedures, work programs and special studies. Among the latter are papers on capital markets; lending rate; financial policy; preference in procurement; agricultural research; commodities; the mining, urbanization and health sectors; agricultural credit; urban, nuclear power and aviation policies; river blindness; nutrition; population; employment; land reform; IDA policies and world development issues. The meetings also included discussions of McNamara's annual speech to the Governors and other speeches and statements, the preparation of Board meetings and other meetings, questions submitted by journalists, McNamara's trips to East and West Africa, and particular issues such as the increase of IBRD capital, the Development Committee, and the establishment of the Third Window.

Personalities meeting with McNamara from outside the Bank are U.S. Treasury Secretaries and other government officials, U.S. Congressmen, heads of international organizations, bankers, businessmen, economists, health specialists and journalists. These conversations concern the IDA and bond issues, marketing legislation, specific lending issues, and development cooperation.