The LGBTQ+ vertical files collection is an artificial collection that contains approximately 13 linear feet of material collected over a span of 5 decades by Michigan State University Special Collections staff. The collection includes a wide range of ephemera that was originally used as reference consultation material for many years. These materials include event flyers, programs, correspondence, brochures, pamphlets, and other documentation of local, regional, and national LGBTQ+ organizations, and in some cases anti-LGBTQ+ organizations or rhetoric. The collection also contains clippings documenting topics such as homophobia, the gay liberation movement, LGBTQ+ people in the military, and same-sex marriage.