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The largest series within the collection, Subject Files (1959-1976; 96 linear ft.) contains correspondence, petitions, memoranda, and other documents, primarily illustrating the role of a U.S. Senator as an ombudsman between the citizens of his state (and often out-of-state) and their federal government. Though Subject Files is a constituent file, it is different from the Constituent Correspondence (described below) in that here there are detailed and individual responses from Hart or the appropriate government agency to citizen concerns. The files are arranged chronologically (except for the first five years of his tenure which is one alphabetical subseries), and then alphabetically by subject. The subject headings are broad, then further subdivided into specific subheadings. A typical kind of document exchange might include a letter from a constituent expressing a concern about a government service or the need for more or less government regulation or legislation. Hart and his staff respond to the letter, and where appropriate pass the letter along to the appropriate agency. The agency then responds to the constituent and includes a copy of the response for Hart and his files. Subject Files is different from Constituent Correspondence in that fewer form letters are used as responses and that the response is a specific reply to a concern and not usually a general statement of Hart's position on various issues.