#uw libraries

“The voice of this Forest is the cry of Nature calling man from the common life to some of the realities of its sterner existence. It invites the tourist but warns him not to come dressed in his parlor clothes” (4).

Sometimes I spend hours searching our catalog and our stacks for a publication to share, and sometimes our patrons do that work for me. This document was left in our reshelving area and caught my eye because I love mountains, the National Park Service, and 1920s government documents, in that order. The Washington National Forest (renamed Mount Baker National Forest in 1924) extends down the western side of the Cascades mountain range from the Canadian border to the edge of Mount Rainier National Park. (Controversial opinion: I think Mt. Baker is even better than Mt. Rainier. It’s less crowded, and as a National Forest rather than a National Park, dogs are welcome.)

This guide, published in 1923, provides rules and tips for interacting with the forest and its wildlife. It also gives information on reaching the summit of Mt. Baker through various trails, as well as weather, fishing, and camping. 

United States. Forest Service. (1923). A mountain vacation land - the Washington National Forest. (Rev. ed., United States. Department of Agriculture. Dept. circular ; 132). Washington: Govt. Print. Off.

The Smithsonian launched its radio program, “The World is Yours,” in June 1936. In weekly, 30 minute segments, the program partnered with the Works Progress Administration to provide work for actors and musicians. Each episode focused on a different area of the museum’s collection or its ongoing research. In addition to the radio show, the Smithsonian published and distributed supplementary readings, such as this document, that included additional information and recommended reading lists. The program continued over six years, airing 303 episodes.  Podcasts relating to history, culture, and science are pretty popular now, but in 1936, curators and educators alike worried that these serialized, dramatized programs would trivialize these complex topics.

This booklet of supplementary material is from June, 1937, a full year after the program went on the air. Topics covered over the month included plays and costumes, communication from the Pony Express to the radio, subterranean caverns, and arrowheads. Each topic includes a short article written by Smithsonian curators, images, and a list for further reading. 

UW’s Government Publication department houses many children’s activity books, which have luckily been digitized and are available either through their respective federal agencies or HathiTrust. If you ever wanted to learn about space, archaeology, or our federal government, now’s the perfect time! 

This junior ranger activity booklet from 2009 provides quick and fun activities (geared towards children ages 5-12, but anybody can do them!) that teach the fundamentals of paleontology as it relates to our national parks. Activities range in subject from sediment layers and fossil identification, and in design from word searches, matching games, mazes, and drawings. Once you complete a certain number of activities (based on your age), you can apply to become a junior paleontologist.  Learn more about the Junior Park Ranger program here.

Jankowski, K., Hill, Caroline Marshall, & United States. National Park Service. (2009). Junior paleontologist activity book, ages 5 to 12 : Explore, learn, protect. Washington, D.C.]: National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior.

The University of Washington Libraries have been on lockdown for a few weeks now, which means we are separated from our beloved government documents. Don’t worry, though: plenty of the publications in our collection have been digitized and are hosted in online repositories, so we’re hoping to continue bringing interesting documents to your attention during this quarantine. First up: here’s an adorable coloring book about the ongoing 24th US Census! Don’t forget to fill out your 2020 census forms!