Food and Agriculture Resources in Special Collections: Vertical files

Vertical files are a way for libraries to organize uncataloged materials by subject.

Contents of a vertical file may range from just a few sheets to a folder six inches thick, and may include pamphlets, advertisements, magazine and newspaper clippings, fundraising letters, and more.

A vertical file may be started for a topic, such as food cooperatives, or an organization, such as the United Farm Workers.

Use the term ARVF (for American Radicalism Vertical Files) as a keyword to locate vertical files. For example:

ARVF and (food or hunger)

ARVF and (farm or farming or agriculture)