The Howard Hughes Public Relations Reference Files (1931-1997) were compiled by Richard "Dick" Hannah, vice-president of the Los Angeles public relations firm Carl Byoir & Associates, which was hired to direct public relations for Hughes’ companies. The collection is primarily composed of newspaper clippings organized into reference files. A significant number of the files contain articles about Howard Hughes’ personal life, the operations of his companies, and legal and political disputes involving Hughes and his companies. The files also document a range of other subjects related to his business ventures, including aviation, aerospace, defense industries, motion picture studios, film stars, communism in Hollywood, and the House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Later in life Hughes became obsessed with how he was being portrayed in the media. In addition to collecting magazine articles, newspaper clippings, transcripts, screenplays, and books that referenced him. He also collected newspaper clippings about the activities of print media outlets, columnists, radio-television stations, current and former employees, and competitors. The collection also contains newspaper clippings about Watergate, organized crime, gambling, and Las Vegas and contains press releases, correspondence and records generated by Carl Byoir & Associates as well as Rosemont Enterprise, Inc.

Oral history interview with Pearl Hughes conducted by Katherine D. Beal on February 11, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In the interview, Hughes discusses her family's early arrival to Las Vegas, Nevada after moving from Salinas, California. Her family then bought and operated a motel in North Las Vegas, Nevada between the late 1940s to 1950. Hughes also discusses the growth of the hotel and casino industry, city urban development, community interactions, Las Vegas, Nevada celebrities, atomic testing, and President John F. Kennedy's assassination.