Harpers Ferry Center publishes official National Park Service handbooks that provide more comprehensive information about a park and expanded discussion of concepts and issues. The authoritative texts, written for a popular audience, are based on the latest scientific and historical research at the time they were published. Photographs, historical pictures and documents, maps, and original art complement the texts. The contents of many of these handbooks are available online.

As with the official park brochures, the designs of all recently published handbooks produced by Harpers Ferry Center are based on the "unigrid" format, helping to establish a uniform identity for National Park Service handbooks. Approximately two-thirds of the handbooks in print are in the unigrid format. Earlier titles are in several different formats.

Two different Handbooks have been procduced over the years: Historical and Natural History. The contents of many are available online for your reading pleasure.

In addition to the Natural History Handbooks, individual parks have produced Nature Notes newsletters, and cooperating associations have also published booklets pertaining to common natural history topics for the parks they represent (many of which were produced in cooperation with, or written by, park staff). A sampling of these titles are also included in the links below.