The papers of Allen Varley Astin (1904-1984) span the years 1921-1984 with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1950-1970. The collection is organized into three series. The National Bureau of Standards series documents Astin's forty-year career at the bureau, most especially his role as director, 1952-1969. The Professional Activities series documents his association with scientific, academic, governmental, and public administration organizations. A small file concerning his term as acting assistant secretary for science and technology at the Commerce Department is combined with a few family and personal papers into a Miscellany series.

The National Bureau of Standards series relates to all phases of Astin's career, including his earliest scientific research in measurement techniques for dielectric (electric insulating) materials, telemetering, and electronic instrumentation. Since the National Bureau of Standards was founded in 1901 to coincide with the electrification of American industry, Astin's initial research was among the work most emphasized at the bureau. During World War II, ordnance research dominated its program, and Astin was one of the scientists assembled at the bureau in 1940 to develop proximity fuses for bombs and rockets. In 1944 and 1945, he represented the bureau in London working in liaison with the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the British armed forces. Astin's proximity fuse file chiefly documents technical and tactical matters, yet reference is also made to the strategic decision not to use proximity fuses in Europe and to their limited use in the Burma and China.

Astin's papers also document his active leadership in the formulation of public policy relating to science. The National Bureau of Standards series provides a record of his influence, including his role in the controversy over negative findings on the battery additive marketed as "AD-X2." Dismissed by Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks, Astin was exonerated by a scientific council appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and overseen by the National Academy of Sciences. A subsequent report to the Secretary of Commerce made recommendations, which Astin helped to develop, for a reorganization of the National Bureau of Standards which eliminated ordnance research from its program and emphasized its primary role in establishing measurement standards and reliable properties of materials. Documentation for the AD-X2 controversy is located principally in the administrative file of the series.

Eisenhower approved the committee recommendations, reinstated Astin, and transferred the ordnance program to the Defense Department. Two new laboratories were then established by Defense: the Harry Diamond Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and the Corona Laboratory in California. Astin's association with these laboratories is documented in the Professional Activities series. Reorganization and relocation of the bureau to Gaithersburg, Maryland, is documented in the administrative file of the National Bureau of Standards series. In addition, the publications file in the same series includes Astin's 1968 interview for the Columbia University oral history of the Eisenhower administration and a draft manuscript for the bicentennial history of the bureau, "Measures of Assurance," both of which treat the AD-X2 controversy and bureau reorganization. Some of Astin's 1953 speeches in the National Bureau of Standards series also refer to the controversy.

Public speaking and publication files in the National Bureau of Standards series document Astin's articulation of the bureau's mission to governmental, scientific, and civic groups throughout the country and at European and Asian conferences. His extensive involvement in scientific associations, documented in the Professional Activities series, reflects the rise of late-twentieth-century research by committee and Astin's influence on the agenda of research programs in private and public laboratories. Other files in the Professional Activities series concern his efforts in scientific panels and governmental committees to define an autonomous role for scientists in public service.

Papers documenting Astin's role in international matters include the International Committee on Weights and Measures file in the National Bureau of Standards series and files for his work with State Department cooperative science programs in France and Japan in the Professional Activities series. Astin initiated studies at the bureau which were used in support of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975. The United States Metric Board file in the Professional Activities series documents his later work on national conversion.

Several letters and a few school and theatrical papers in the Miscellany series pertain to Astin's son, the actor John Astin, who is known for his portrayal of "Gomez" on the 1960s television show, "The Addams Family."