In general, vertical files at Special Collections include newspaper clippings, photocopies, ephemera, unpublished and/or informal publications, and other papers relating to a specific subject area. Files in this collection relate to Virginia Tech and its history. Topics may include, but are not limited to, colleges and departments, student organizations, administrative offices, centers and other campus units, and athletics.

The collection consists of scrapbooks, journals, V.P.I. reunion materials, photograph albums, family diplomas, and the diary of Nannie V. Sibold. As a whole, the collection dates from 1912 to 1990. However, Carrie T. Sibold's scrapbook journals, which run from 1974 to 1990, constitute the the bulk of the collection material.