The Thoreau
Institute at Walden Woods Library
An Overview of the Collections:
The Henley Library at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods collects research materials relating to Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), his historical context, and his contemporary relevance to environmental and human-rights issues. It provides the most comprehensive body of Thoreau-related material available in one place, consisting of 8,000 books and over 60,000 items, including manuscripts, clippings, articles, correspondence of Thoreau scholars, photographs, maps and surveys, personal histories, slides, scrapbooks, ephemera, and realia. While the Henley Library is not a lending library, its collections are available for use by appointment. The Curator will also provide limited reference services.
- The Walden Woods Project Collections
- The Thoreau Society Collections
- The Scott and Helen Nearing Papers
- The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society Collection
The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods continues to collect materials relating to Thoreau, his times, and his influence on environmental affairs, American philosophy, and the exploration of the relationship between the individual and society, as well as the work of other environmental writers and social reformers. The Curator welcomes suggestions of titles or donations of materials to be added to the Institute’s collections.
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