Abstract: The Social Action Vertical File is comprised of folders of documents which do not in themselves constitute manuscript collections, but which contain materials of interest to the researcher in contemporary United States history. The majority of the collection dates from the 1960s and 1970s, and pertains to the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements of the period, although there is also material generated by a wide range of liberal, black nationalist, feminist, peace, socialist, communist, labor, and other contemporary social action groups. Some right-wing material is also included. Many of the folders contain merely a few sheets, and most consist largely of printed or near-print ephemeral materials, such as leaflets, handouts, circular letters, mimeographed items, and near-print newsletters and flyers, rather than original documents.