Collecting Nature: The American Environmental Movement and the Conservation Library

Author:   Andrew G. Kirk
Publisher:   University Press of Kansas
ISBN:  

9780700611232


Pages:   256
Publication Date:   31 October 2001
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

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Collecting Nature: The American Environmental Movement and the Conservation Library


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Overview

It was like no other library: not a musty, mute archive but a bustling center of activity and voice of advocacy. It brought together otherwise combative parties--sportsmen, lumbermen, librarians, politicians, even disputing activists--as it helped redefine what environmentalism means in America. Denver's Conservation Library was established in 1960 as a repository for environmental and conservation documents. In chronicling its history, Andrew Kirk also traces the cultural history of American environmentalism as viewed through the lens of this unique institution. He tells how this library created by an older generation of technophobic men evolved into a cutting-edge laboratory for alternative technology research run by young women, mirroring tumultuous changes in American culture and social movements over the past four decades. Kirk reveals how the Conservation Library Collection merged with various constituencies vying to shape it for their own purposes, and how it reflected the thinking of influences as diverse as John Muir and Stewart Brand. He introduces key players such as founder Arthur Carhart and administrator Kay Collins, then tells how the CLC was transformed into the Regional Energy/Environment Information Center, suffered cutbacks in the Reagan era that brought on its demise, and lately began a quiet resurgence as the archive it was originally intended to be. Collecting Nature shows that the CLC was a microcosm for the environmental movement itself, as well as a clear barometer of its gender and generational shifts. Kirk's eloquent narrative reveals much about the ideological bases and promises of environmentalism, while showing how the movement grew from its conservationist and preservationist roots. In the process, Kirk contributes to the debate over the evolution of environmental thinking, with an eye toward resolving the differences among competing perspectives. Through the story of this unique institution, he shows us how we have come to define conservation, wilderness, and even nature itself.

Full Product Details

Author:   Andrew G. Kirk
Publisher:   University Press of Kansas
Imprint:   University Press of Kansas
Dimensions:   Width: 16.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.70cm
Weight:   0.333kg
ISBN:  

9780700611232


ISBN 10:   0700611231
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   31 October 2001
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

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Reviews

A major contribution that provides a truly unique angle on environmental history and reveals the massive generational shifts that came about in the transition from conservation to environmentalism - a vital topic that historians have only begun to explore. Mark Harvey, Author of A Symbol of Wilderness: Echo Park and the American Conservation Movement; I enjoyed reading this book, got caught up in Kirk's story, and learned a lot about the politics of libraries and the environmental movement's recent history. Original, important, and well written, it should be read by a wide audience. Anne Hyde, Author of American Vision: Far Western Landscape and National Culture, 1820-1920


A major contribution that provides a truly unique angle on environmental history and reveals the massive generational shifts that came about in the transition from conservation to environmentalism - a vital topic that historians have only begun to explore. Mark Harvey, Author of A Symbol of Wilderness: Echo Park and the American Conservation Movement; I enjoyed reading this book, got caught up in Kirk's story, and learned a lot about the politics of libraries and the environmental movement's recent history. Original, important, and well written, it should be read by a wide audience. Anne Hyde, Author of American Vision: Far Western Landscape and National Culture, 1820-1920


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