On Display: #FindYourPark: National Parks & America's Public Land

“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.” 
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

The National Parks have been called “America’s Greatest Idea” and it is easy to see why. In 1916, President Wilson signed The Organic Act creating The National Parks Services whose “purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Today the National Park System covers more than 84 million acres including parks, shorelines, monuments, and historic sites.

This collection of books includes histories of the parks and the people who championed them, memoirs of time spent living in and walking among nature, depictions of conservationists efforts to protect these resources, and awe inspiring photography that captures just a fraction of what makes these landscapes so breathtaking. Check out one of our guide books covering everything from the major parks in the west or even just the rail trails of New England or read a history of the Boston Harbor Islands as you prepare for a local day trip. Whether you are heading to the Cape Cod National Seashore or the Great Smoky Mountains, or you’d rather be thrilled by the amazing feats of the rock climbers of the Yosemite Valley, as summer rolls in be inspired to get outside and explore.

Stop by the library lobby to browse or borrow May 13^th – June 23^rd.