Research Guide

• The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University is custodian of the Rachel Carson Papers, given by the estate of Rachel Carson in 1965. Curator Patricia Willis, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, PO Box 208240, New Haven CT 06520, 203-432-2962.
• Special Collections at the Charles E. Shain Library at Connecticut College holds the Lear/Carson Collection. The collection consists of Linda Lear's archive of materials used for her biography, Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature and the anthology, Lost Woods, as well as personal papers given to Lear by Carson's colleagues and friends. Gift of Linda Lear. Open for Undergraduate research only until 2002. Permission required for all others. Special Collections Librarian Laurie Deredita. Charles E. Shain Library, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320, 860-439-2654.
• The Ladd Library at Bates College is custodian of the Dorothy Freeman Collection, letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman. Archivist Chris Beam, Ladd Library, Bates College, Lewiston ME 04240, 207-786-6272.
• The Ferdinand Hamburger Archives, Milton Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University is custodian of papers related to Carson's days as a graduate student in marine biology during the early 1930's. Archivist James Stimpert, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21218, 410-516-8323.
• Photographs: The Estate of Rachel Carson has put most non-copyrighted photographs in the public domain. All the research institutions listed above, plus several of the named organizations listed below, hold some photographs. Format, cost, and availability depend on the institution, as well as courtesy permission. Captions and name of photographer, if known, should be verified from the loaning institution. Commercial photographs are available from Magnum Photo, 212-929-6000, and Corbis Images at 800-260-0444. The Martin Luther King Library Photograph Department in Washington, DC has press photographs as does AP Wire Service and World Wide Photo.

Recent Bibliography

• Smith, M.B. "`Silence, Miss Carson!' Science, gender, and the reception of Silent Spring”. Feminist Studies, 27,3(Fall 2001):733-52.

Organizations

• Permission to use:
  All requests for permission to quote or to otherwise use Carson's words from any source must be secured from Ms. Frances Collin, Trustee of the Estate of Rachel Carson. She is the only person who can give permission. She can be contacted at P.O. Box 33, Wayne, PA. 19087 -9998.
• The Rachel Carson Homestead is Carson's birthplace and childhood home and offers tours and education programs. Rachel Carson Homestead, PO BOX 46, Springdale, PA 15144, 724-274-5459.
  rcarson@salsgiver.com
• The Rachel Carson Council serves as a clearinghouse for pesticide-related information and publishes guides to pesticide dangers and alternative pest controls. Rachel Carson Council, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, 301-652-1877 or rccouncil@aol.com.
• The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells, Maine, was named after Rachel Carson in 1970 and features a mile-long nature trail. Contact 207-646-9226 or fw5rw_rcnwr@fws.gov. A printed brochure about Rachel Carson in Maine written by Linda Lear is available at the Refuge. Click to download the PDF file (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) http://www.Nctc.fws.gov/library/Refuges/carsonbro.pdf
• The Department of Interior Museum,1849 C. St. NW, Washington DC 20240 has an exhibit on Carson who was a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist and editor for fifteen years. Museum is open to the public with proper picture ID. Anne James, Curator, 202-208-4743.
• The US Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of Interior also maintains a collection of Carson's articles and publications which she edited during her tenure as a biologist and editor-in-chief. The US Fish an Wildlife Service Training Center has information on a wide variety of environmental topics. http://training.fws.gov
  

On-Line Resources

• Organizations and Institutions
• "Nature Transformed," an instructional guide on environmental history on TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center for an essay on Carson and other leading environmental figures.
• Chatham College, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was known as the Pennsylvania College for Women when Rachel attended during the late 1920's.
• The Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole.
• Hawk Mountain Sanctuary was a favorite bird-watching spot for Carson.
• Printed Primary Sources
  • "There's Poison All Around Us Now", the New York Times review of Silent Spring.
  • Carson's obituary in the New York Times, April 15, 1964.
• Current Interest Features
  • The Natural Resources Defense Council provides an excellent background piece on Silent Spring.
  • 25 years after DDT was outlawed and the Endangered Species Act was enacted, the status of the Bald Eagle was changed from "Endangered" to "Threatened" in 1995.
  • PBS's "The Science Odyssey - People and Discoveries" provides a quick bio sketch on Carson and an entry for Silent Spring.
  • "Passing the Baton": Rachel Carson and the Start of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
  • "Rachel Carson Helped Save the Brown Pelican" National Wildlife. (December/January 2000):44-50
  • "Sounding the Alarm" by Bruce Watson. Smithsonian Magazine. (September 2002):115-117
• On-Line Commentary
• Discussion of Carson as a moral leader from the Online Ethics Center at Case Western University: A Scientist Alerts The Public To The Hazards of Pesticides
• The Environmental History Timeline points out that concern for the environment did not begin with Silent Spring.
• EcoTopia provides information and links for environmental heroes like Carson, Thoreau, Muir, Leopold and others. Includes a brief biography and links.

Named for Rachel Carson

• The North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve has designated a Rachel Carson Component near Beaufort, North Carolina.
• President Clinton named a section of the Great Barrier Reef for Rachel Carson during a November, 1996 visit.
• The Rachel Carson Trail passes within 1/4 mile of the Homestead on its 34-mile route from North Park to Harrison Hills Park in Allegheny County. The trail is maintained by the Pittsburgh Council of American Youth Hostels.
• The Rachel Carson Greenway, maintained by the Boothbay Regional Land Trust, Boothbay Harbor, ME 207-633-4818.

Other Media

• "Rachel Carson's Silent Spring" produced by Peace River Films for the American Experience in 1993 is available on video through www.prif.com. Order through the website, or contact Peace River Films at prfilms@prif.com (617-492-7993)
• The American Experience Home Page, from PBS, has notes and background on the 1993 documentary program Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, 1993 produced by Peace River Films in Cambridge, MA.
• Media artist, activist and educator Branda Miller has created Witness to the Future, an interactive CD-ROM and companion videotape about environmental activism that includes the full electronic text of Silent Spring, as well as sound clips of Carson speaking, curriculum material, and hyperlinks to related World Wide Web sites.