Research and Education
- Bibliography of the Published Writings of John Lyman (1992) (pdf)
- Bibliographic Essay on the African American West
- Civic Engagement Bibliography (pdf)
- Cultural Landscape Bibliography (pdf)
- George Wright Society Publications Program
- Road to Disunion: Selected Bibliography On The Causes Of The American Civil War
- A Selective Bibliography of Exploration Relating to the United States (pdf)
- Bibliographic Essay on African American History (pdf)
- Bibliographic Essay on U.S. Latino/a History (2007) (pdf)
- Bibliographic Essay on the American Civil War (2004) (pdf)
- Conservation, Preservation, and Environmental Activism: A Survey of the Historical Literature
- Historic Preservation: Action Transforming Our Thinking (2008) (pdf)
- History, Memory, and Monuments: An Overview of the Scholarly Literature on Commemoration (2006)
- Migration and Settlement from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 1750-1890: A Survey of the Literature
- Military-Indian Conflict: A Survey of the Historical Literature (2007) (pdf)
- Native Americans and American History (2005) (pdf)
- Religion in American History: A Brief Guide to Reading (pdf)
- Revolutionary War Bibliography (pdf) (2003)
- Technology and Engineering in the American Experience
Research is necessary not only to the preparation of interesting material to serve as a basis of the naturalist and historical service, but it also is fundamental to the actual protection of the natural features of the parks, as enjoined in the acts establishing the parks and in the act of August 25, 1916, creating the National Park Service.
(Horace M. Albright, The Scientific Monthly, June 1933)
Two young people taking part in the Urban Archeology Corps program in Virginia.
Research, interpretation, and education go hand-in-hand. As part of its NPS Centennial observance the Park History Program created materials that consider how history is at the heart of our mission and that show by examples how to enhance outreach programs.
"Exploring History in the National Park Service" is a six-minute video that describes how history relates to all of our work in cultural and natural resource stewardship, management, and interpretation. It also explains the fundamentals of historical thinking, the kind of research that historians do, the products that we create, and the community of practice that we would like to build.
"Best Practices for History Lessons and History Discovery Events" can help you design, implement, and evaluate dynamic history programs and projects. The series gathers ideas, resources, and exemplary history projects and programs that demonstrate how to practice engaged and relevant history. These tools and ideas can be scaled up or down. They can be used by folks doing historical interpretation within the NPS, as well as those outside of the agency looking for good ways to connect people, places, and histories.
Check out some of the great work of our peers that inspired these guidelines and resources at History Discovery Events Gallery.
Please note: The following links may contain copyrighted material. Permission has been granted to the National Park Service to post this information online, but the copyrights are still reserved by the owner of the original books. While NPS-produced publications are normally considered to be in the public domain, many of the reports contain illustrations that are copies of materials NOT in the public domain, for which one-time reprint permission was obtained prior to each report's publication. Persons wishing to use these illustrations for any purpose beyond educational perusal must obtain their own permissions from the owners of the original materials.