AOAC International was originally founded as the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC) in 1884 and was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The initial charge of the organization was to formulate standard methods used to analyze fertilizers. AOAC was officially established as an independent organization at a convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1885.

In 1965, the organization changed its name to the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) to recognize the fact that the organization's scope of interest had expanded beyond agricultural topics. In 1991, the name was again changed to AOAC International to reflect the growing international aspect of its membership and to reduce the emphasis on any one particular scientific discipline. Prior to 1987, full voting membership was restricted to analytical chemists who were state and federal government employees. Now, more than half of the membership is made up of industry scientists.

Geographically formed Sections were approved in 1980. The first Section in North America, the Pacific Northwest Section, was formed in 1981 with many others following, including the Northeast Section. The Northeast Section held its first annual meeting in Syracuse, New York, in June 1982. Membership of the Northeast Section was composed of United States scientists from Maine; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; Rhode Island; Vermont; portions of Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania; and also Canadian scientists from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. As of 2007 the Northeast Section was inactive.

The collection (1981-1990, undated) contains programs, correspondence, proposed bylaws, and a promotional brochure. The correspondence is related to the formation of the Northeast Section.

The collection is arranged chronologically.