The Josephine Kingsley Hardy papers consist of diaries, compositions, commonplace books, and history class notes. The papers reflect her educational and extracurricular endeavors at the "Northfield Seminary" and the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary from 1851-1857. The diaries reflect her time at Mount Holyoke, and discuss clothing styles, religious life, students, faculty and visiting lecturers, the activities of the Class of 1857, and events such as the Fourth of July celebration of 1857 and a visit from Amherst students. They provide insight into her distaste for domestic work, express her dissatisfaction with and criticism of regulations (often with sarcastic humor), and mention the books that she was reading as well as her studies. The 1853 diary contains notes reflecting her study of history in 1852 prior to entering Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. The 1857 diary includes a biographical note written in 1858. The thirty-five compositions about topics such as "The Immigration from Foreign Countries ought to be checked" (March 4, 1854), "Slavery" (circa March 1855), and "What employment brings most happiness" (circa 1853-1855 or 1857) reflect writing instruction during her years at Mount Holyoke and show corrections and evidence of revision. Of note are the commonplace books containing writings by students at Northfield and elsewhere, circa 1851-1853. The writings are gathered into compilations entitled "The Scholar's Wreath," "On Winter," "The Schoolgirl's Trial," "The Weekly Gem," "The Casket of Gems," and "The Mountain Echo." They reflect the writings of both young men and young women, probably classmates in schools that Hardy attended. They show a variety of styles, including poetry, short stories, and essays and concern a broad range in topics from "Queen Elizabeth" to "Cats." The collections demonstrate considerable craftsmanship, often with elaborate calligraphic covers.