~ 0 ^ 7 . 9 (^ 774 ^ [Rt printed from the Library Journal, November, 1919] A PLAN FOR A NATURE LIBRARY By C. Edward Graves, Librarian, Nature literature, meaning in a general way by that term what Mr. Theodore Roosevelt has described as “the literature of appreciative love of nature and of hardy out-of-door life” is a class of literature whose resources have been thoroly ex- plored by only a few favored initiates. In fact, only within recent years has there been developed any consciousness of the existence of a clearly-defined class of this kind of literature. Judging from the widely different types of books that critics care- lessly label with this convenient catchword of classification, there is still much vague- ness of popular idea in regard to it. It is true, however, that one of the notable lit- erary movements of the last half-century has been the gradual evolution of a dis- tinct type of writing which for want of a more specific name must be called “nature literature,” having for its principal theme the beauty and attractiveness of the natural world, as distinguished from the human. Gilbert White was the isolated forerunner of this movement, Thoreau and Jefferies the actual originators, and John Muir, John Burroughs and William Henry Hudson the leading spirits in its modern development. A host of other writers are now following in the footsteps of these leaders and the cres- cendo of this movement is bound to take rank along with the modern renaissance of poetry as one of the distinguishing fea- tures of twentieth century literature. The movement has reached its highest development in the English-speaking coun- tries, especially in the United States, where the gradual opening up of the wonderlands of our national parks has been a great stim- ulus to interest in nature subjects. It is there- fore most appropriate that the establishment of the first institution designed to embody the spirit of this movement should take place in America. Moreover, on account of the rapid industrial development of the coun- try and the alarming cityward trend of population, there is a great need of en- Minnesota Historical Society couraging any tendency toward an interest in subjects that will take people away somewhat from the nerve-racking turmoil and deadening conventionalities of city life to the restfulness and refreshment of the quiet spaces of nature. Even the country dweller, tho living in close and con- stant contact with the wonders and beauty of the fields and forests, needs to be stim- ulated to an active study and contemplation of the natural phenomena around him, if he is to avoid being overcome by a sense of monotony with a consequent mental lethargy. Believing that a better acquaint- ance with and appreciation of nature liter- ature with its gospel of peace and beauty and wholesome out-of-door activity will do much to remedy the situation, the writer has conceived and worked out a plan for an institution, that he has called for want of a more specific name a “nature library.” It is in reality much more than a library, as will appear from the following description, tho the library is the nucleus of the institution. The idea is that it shall be a reference library of nature literature in its widest sense: the writer has satisfied himself after many years of study and observation, that there is enough of this kind of literature in existence, if a certain amount of the technical and scientific literature of the dif- ferent branches of nature study is included, to fill a good-sized library, and no doubt it will be turned out in ever-increasing quanti- ties during the coming century. The dis- tinguishing feature about it is that it shall be located, not in a city where it would be entirely out of harmony with its sur- roundings, but in a rural setting in the midst of beautiful natural scenery which would be altogether appropriate to the char- acter of the institution. If possible, the grounds should be extensive and of varied topographical character. They should be left in their natural state in so far as prac- tical, with very few artificial improvements \ 2 except the construction of the necessary walks and driveways. As an illustration of the practical advantages of an acquaintance with nature literature different species of our native wild flora might be planted and encouraged in suitable locations throughout the grounds, nesting sites and other ar- rangements for attracting the birds might be made, non-destructive forms of animal life might be encouraged, and other activi- ties engaged in with the same end in view. In order to have a maximum of useful- ness, the institution should be located not very far from a large center of population in a portion of the country served by good roads, and the winter climate should not be so severe as to discourage the use of the institution during that*season of the year. However, the greatest amount of good ac- complished would be not thru a large popular attendance, but thru publicity work, strengthened by the appeal to the papular imagination that the uniqueness of the plan would make. There are in this country a great many organizations whose interests center primarily in a love of nature, though often in a specialized form, such as moun- taineering clubs, Audubon clubs, botanical clubs and so forth. There are many other people, not members of any of these or- ganizations who have just as sincere a love for nature but who have no rallying-point for their interests. Such an institution would co-ordinate and focus this sentiment from all over the country, and would thus be in a position to exert a powerful influ- ence in awakening the interest of the gen- eral public in nature subjects. A monthly or weekly bulletin might be the best organ for this publicity and educational work at first, and later, if successful, it could be converted into a magazine that would do for nature-lovers and writers of nature litera- ture what the Bookman is doing for book- lovers and the literary people in general. The present time is peculiarly opportune for the establishment of such an institution. The coming century is bound to witness the development of a greater interest in all things relating to nature. For one thing. The natural reaction from the intensified emotions brought out by the long-continued period of warfare will inevitably tend to lead people’s thoughts back toward the peace and simplicity of nature. For an- other thing, many of our returning soldiers, formerly addicted to habits of indoor amusement and recreation, will no doubt be attracted more and more to the out-of- door life that they have learned to enjoy in their training and campaigning exper- iences. These returning soldiers are very aptly described by Mr. Archie Austin Coates in a recent poem as “Men coming back to their desks, but nevermore blind to the stars ...” The result will be not merely an increased interest in the more formal out-of-door sports, such as base- ball, tennis and so forth, but more tramp- ing and camping in the fields, forests and mountains. An intelligent direction of this newly-found interest will help to insure the permanency of its good results, and this proposed institution would be the rallying- point, a kind of mother-institution, for this work all over the country. In doing this work, it would be distinctly entitled to a claim as an active reconstructive agency, thus being thoroughly in accord with the spirit of the times. Another great service that this library could render would be the compiling of bibliographies and indexes to make better available the vast mass of this literature at present hidden away in unknown and almost inaccessible nooks and corners of libraries and bookshops. Because the ex- istence of a distinctive class of nature lit- erature has not in the past been recognized by librarians and literary critics, it has never been adequately indexed or cata- logued. Gathering it together under one roof will afford a fine opportunity for this work which should be of inestimable benefit to authors and investigators. The possible adaptions and developments of the plan are theoretically almost un- limited, and practically would be limited only by the size of the endowment fund. Special departments might be established, such, for instance, as a department of land- scape art, which would include out-of-door 3 photography, especially nature photography, painting, and landscape architecture of the natural or informal school. The library would be the nucleus and center of all this work, but courses of lectures and instruc- tion in the field by experts might well be offered as an additional attraction. These could be short intensive courses, on the same principle as the summer Chautauqua plan. Expert instructors and students would probably be glad to avail themselves of the opportunity offered to make use of the library and out-of-door laboratory for field work, while at the same time enjoy- ing a vacation from their regular routine. This idea has already been worked out on a small scale by the National Association of Audubon Societies at their School for Applied Ornithology at Amston, Connecti- cut, where three short courses on bird study and field ornithology, applied orni- thology and nature photography were given for the first time last summer. The extensive application of the idea by an institution embracing all the different branches of nature study would be a great and unique undertaking. The prospectus of the plan as described above was recently mailed out to many prominent nature writers and nature lovers all over the country in an effort to crys- tallize sentiment on the subject. The re- plies were almost without exception en- thusiastic in their approval of the idea. Among others, Walter Prichard Eaton, Gene Stratton-Porter and Enos Mills have taken an especially helpful interest in the plan. A list of the more prominent people who have written strong letters of approval would include such well-known authors as Stewart Edward White, Dallas Lore Sharp, Ray Stannard Baker (David Grayson, pseud.) Major A. Radclyffe Dugmore and Herbert K. Job, two of the best known na- ture photographers in the world ; T. Gilbert Pearson, Secretary of the National Associ- ation of Audubon Societies; E. W. For- bush, Massachusetts State Ornithologist ; Stephen T. Mather, Director of the United States National Park Service; Prof. Lib- erty Hyde Bailey; P. S. Ridsdale, Editor of American Forestry ; Jens Jensen of Chi- cago, and William Tyler (Wilhelm) Miller of Detroit, two of the leading landscape gardeners of the country; Dr. D. T. Mac Dougal, Director of the Desert Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution; Dr. C. Hart Merriam, the well-known scientist of the Smithsonian Institution, and many other prominent people. This result was not altogether unex- pected, since the plan is one that appeals especially to people who are thoroughly in- terested in nature and out-of-doors subjects. Librarians, however, and even the nature lovers among them, have a rather differ- ent viewpoint, and the author of the plan would very much like to receive criti- cism from any of them who are interested. The question of financing the enterprise is one that will eventually have to be dealt with, but if the idea is generally conceded to be a sufficiently worthy one, that is, if the amount of good to be accomplished is sufficient to justify any expenditure in- volved, financial means will surely be found sooner or later. The principal points at issue, therefore, at the present time, are theoretical and technical in nature rather than practical. For instance, one promi- nent librarian makes the following criti- cism: “The tendency of modern libraries, it seems to me, is towards consolidation and against the creation of libraries for special purposes unless there is some over- whelming reason for them. I should even go so far as to say that in every large city, all collections of books should be con- centrated in one spot. The value of each book to the public is multiplied many fold simply because of its proximity to other books. For this reason, altho I strongly approve the making of such a large collec- tion of nature books as you suggest, it ought, I think, to be made by some large public library and housed in the central building of this library.” The answer to this criticism is that the value of nature books would be multiplied many fold be- cause of their proximity to the differ- ent forms of nature described in the books. In other words, an out-of-door laboratory is needed where the practical can be joined up with the theoretical and the visible with the imaginative, and where the institution can acquire an individuality that would be denied if its book collections were merged with collections of books of fiction, lan- guages, engineering, medicine and other equally foreign subjects. This argument, however, is not intended to discourage the formation of such collec- tions by public libraries. In fact, it is even possible that the institution in some modi- fied form might be established as a branch of a public library in an appropriate subur- ban or park location. Thus located, it would make an excellent Roosevelt Memor- ial; the Greater Chicago Roosevelt Me- morial Association recently gave serious consideration to such a plan. The love of nature is one of the most healthful influ- ences in our modern civilzation, and public libraries can accomplish much good by em- phasizing in every way possible books that encourage the growth of this feeling.