Genevieve M. Walton served as the Library Director at Michigan State Normal College from 1892 to 1932, and during that period increased the size of the collection to include 70,000 volumes, the staff to eleven full-time librarians, and oversaw the move to a separate library building, which opened in 1930. Walton was very active in the library science field and participated in the American Library Association and the Michigan Library Association, of which she was both a co-founder and the first woman president.

The Genevieve M. Walton papers have been divided into three series: Lectures, Publications, and Teaching materials. The Lectures series includes handwritten and typed copies of lectures presented to students and librarians, and several are in bound notebooks. The Publications series includes papers and essays authored by Ms. Walton. The Teaching Materials series includes class lists, bibliographies and library catalogues, curriculum materials, and teaching manuals. In addition, there is a file of memorials and obituaries from 1930 to 1932, a photograph file, and a biography file that includes a wide range of materials.