The Penn State University Press is pleased to introduce Metalmark Books , a joint imprint of the Press and the University Libraries at Penn State. Books published under this imprint are selected from the collections of the University Libraries. They may be viewed online or ordered as print-on-demand paperbacks. Initially, books published under the Metalmark imprint will be chosen from the Libraries’ extensive Pennsylvania holdings. Over time, the scope will broaden to include other significant out-of-print titles. These five Metalmark reprints preserve and make available once again some of the early writings of folklorist Henry W. Shoemaker. He authored hundreds of pamphlets and books on nature, history, and folklore. He was the publisher of several influential newspapers in Pennsylvania, including the Altoona Tribune and the Reading Eagle . He became the first state folklorist in America, one of the first chairs of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, and an influential member of the State Forest Commission and the State Geographic Board.