The Vertical Files are a collection of newspaper and magazine clippings from local news sources. They are housed in folders in filing cabinets at various branches. The largest collection is at the Main Library on Goodwood Blvd. Articles in that collection span years from the 1920’s to the present.
Many of the articles are not available on the Internet. For instance, did you know that many official reports pertaining to the BP Oil Spill/Deepwater Horizon disaster published at that time are no longer available? You can find many of them in our Vertical Files. Do you need information about an old monument in Baton Rouge? Do you want to research the history of a neighborhood or school? You can find it in the Vertical Files.
Staff members recently catalogued the Vertical File Index for your convenience. To discover what files the Main Library owns, conduct a search in the online catalog. Type in “Vertical File” in the Keyword search box. Over 800 entries will result. You can also narrow your search. For example, try “Louisiana plantations” or “Baton Rouge Libraries”. There’s a file for that!
