Publications and
Reports
SOUTH AFRICAN NATURE SANCTUARY
Some of South Africa's achievements in setting aside
inviolate lands now date back more than a decade, but most of them still
are not well known to American conservationists because international
conservation studies are virtually nonexistent. The scope of the
movement is suggested by an article of Dr. R. Bigalke in The
Johannesburg Star of November 27, 1936, announcing the establishment
of Rietvlei Sanctuary.
"Although the concept of the protection of wild life
first began to be formulated during the first quarter of the nineteenth
century and gradually gained momentum as the century progressed," wrote
Dr. Bigalke, "it was not until the last quarter of that century, and
especially in the early part of the twentieth century, that the question
met with the attention that it merited. In South Africa the first
spectacular results of the conservation principle were achieved during
the past ten years, largely as the result of the untiring efforts of the
Wild Life Protection Society of South Africa.
"At the present time conservation is not only
practised on a more or less large scale by all civilised states, but on
a smaller scale it is meeting with increased attention at the hands of
municipalities, societies and private individuals. Pretoria has not been
backward in this respect, with the result that three sanctuaries are in
existence at the present time. . .
"The most recent addition to the list---namely, the
Rietvlei Sanctuary---also has the distinction of being the largest. This
sanctuary, which lies on the farm Rietvlei, about 10 miles south of
Pretoria, extends over an area of no less than 12,180 acres. If certain
steps are taken which are considered necessary to encourage the
establishment of animals of all kinds, and more particularly of birds,
the Rietvlei Sanctuary will no doubt become one of Pretoria's principal
attractions in the course of time."
SERVICE WRITINGS, BOOKS, AND
LIBRARIES
The priceless collections of technical reports of
Service specialists, the role of books and allied research tools, and
the history, status, and urgent needs of Service libraries all receive
careful review by Carl P. Russell in "Libraries in the National Parks"
(The Library Journal, Vol. 65, No. 8, April 15, pp. 330-333).
"As might be expected," writes Dr. Russell, "the
nation-wide program of establishment, preservation, and interpretation
of the country's scenic wonders and historic treasures has resulted in
notable contributions to our conservation literature. Thousands of
technical reports and popular articles have been written by able workers
who have had the inspiration that comes with intimate contact with the
natural phenomena and historic evidences among which they study. These
original accounts continue to appear daily. In the aggregate, they
constitute a wealth of source material which serve now in a practical
way, and in the years to come will continue to serve all those who will
write the story of America.
"Unfortunately, few of these worthy articles have
appeared in print; some have been mimeographed and given a limited
distribution) but the great bulk of this significant material remains in
manuscript form and is held in the library collections of the Washington
office and the regional offices of the National Park Service. Its
presence there constitutes obvious justification for the establishment
of libraries and library methods in the central offices mentioned. In
addition to these reports and articles of Service origin, the central
administrative offices of the Service must acquire collections of
reference works in history, archeology, ethnology, geology, biology, and
the general field of recreation. These materials, like the Service
reports, are to be regarded as tools for staff use; they have no direct
relationship with a public contact program, yet they do demand the
attention of librarians.
After describing the circumstances of the foundation
of the excellent Yellowstone library nearly 50 years ago and that of
Yosemite at a later date, Dr. Russell cites the more recent
preoccupation of the four Regional Directors and the national park
Superintendents with the problems arising from the need for providing
and organizing the resources of research. He concludes:
"Under existing circumstances, it seems unlikely that
a substantial library program involving construction of library
buildings in parks and the employment of a chief librarian can be
justified. But it is reasonable to expect that more generous allotments
for the purchase of books will be granted, and it is a foregone
conclusion that every Service executive will adjust his resources and
personnel so as to give good attention to library needs. An interest in
the science of bibliography will be cultivated, contributions to
national park literature will continue to flow from the pens of staff
members, and library collections will continue to grow in administration
buildings and in park museums. Eventually that day will arrive when a
chief librarian can be employed and a coordinated library program
established, which will enable national park librarians to keep pace
with the rest of the public contact work which now serves some sixteen
million people in the greatest of out-of-doors universities."
HISTORICAL BOOKLETS
For free distribution, the Service has projected a
series of 16-page booklets pertaining to the historical and
archeological parks and monuments east of the Mississippi, and to
several of the historical monuments of the West. These booklets, uniform
in format, contain accurate narrative and expository accounts of the
events which cause the areas to have significance in American history,
descriptions of the principal features, and regulations governing
visitor use.
Approximately half the space in each booklet is
devoted to illustrations, which include photographs, both modern and
historical, paintings, drawings, engravings, and lithographs. Many
museums, libraries and galleries have cooperated by permitting the use
of rare illustrations from their collections. Simple diagrams and maps
complement the texts wherever such devices are required, and on the back
cover of each booklet there is a park and road map.
Seven booklets, constituting a first group, were
prepared in 1939, and of these six have been issued as follows:
Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi; Colonial National
Historical Park, Virginia; Morristown National Historical Park, New
Jersey; Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania, and Ocmulgee
and Fort Pulaski National Monuments, Georgia. The last booklet of the
group, Fort Marion and Fort Matanzas National Monuments, Florida, will
be released soon.
A second group of approximately 16 booklets has been
in preparation during the last few months and will pertain to the
following areas: Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine,
Maryland; George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Virginia;
Shiloh National Military Park, Tennessee; Statue of Liberty National
Monument, New York; Salem Maritime National Historic Site,
Massachusetts; Hopewell Village National Historic Site, Pennsylvania;
Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park, Kentucky; Chickamauga and
Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; Guilford
Courthouse National Military Park, North Carolina; Kennesaw Mountain
National Battlefield Park and the Atlanta Campaign, Georgia; Kings
Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina; Lee Mansion National
Memorial, Virginia, and Fort Laramie National Monument, Wyoming. In this
group there also will be a booklet devoted to the mountain culture of
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and
Tennessee.---Ralston B. Lattimore.
HISTORY COMES ALIVE
. . . The national park program is also a broadly
educational venture. It is an attempt to preserve, make accessible, and
present to the millions of people who annually visit the parks and
monuments a living story of the world about them. When people refresh
themselves in great natural areas and at historic shrines, natural
history and human history are rescued from the laboratory and the
archives to be come vital elements in the welding of the Nation. --From
What Are National Parks?, Supplement to Planning and Civic
Comment, Vol. 4, No. 1.
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