Research and reference works from Hudgins' personal library represent the writer, librarian, and University of Arkansas graduate's wide-ranging interests. A native of Hot Springs, Mary Hudgins was active in the American Association of University Women, the Arkansas Folklore Society, and the Arkansas Historical Association.

The items in the Pathfinder-Porter Collection were originally collected by William Porter, a Chicago engraver who acquired the volumes during his extensive travels before retiring to a log cabin in Johnson County. The Pathfinder Club, a women's club established in 1898 in Morrilton, Arkansas, cared for the books from 1914-1983. The club made the books available to the public in their library before donating them to Special Collections. The Pathfinder-Porter Collection contains important eighteenth-century works in the social and natural sciences as well as in other subjects, many in interesting early bindings.