Historic Preservation & Conservation: Online Resources

a print journal (available online through JSTOR) that deals with issues, techniques, and technologies concerning preservation. Table of contents and sample articles available through APT Bulletin website

Building Conservation Directory is an online and print journal that contains information on conservation, repairs, and restoration. The website hosts many articles from the magazine online.

Building & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architectural Forum is a periodical that publishes scholarly work on vernacular architecture in North America.

Change Over Time: An International Journal of Conservation and the Built Environment is a semiannual publication dedicated to contemporary issues in the field of conservation and the built environment.

Common Ground : Archeology and Ethnography in the Public Interest is a archeological and conservation periodical that is produced by the National Park Service. Back catalogs of the magazine are available at this site.

CRM is a journal documenting the history and emerging trends in cultural resource management. It was produced between 2003 and 2011 by the National Park Service. Back catalogs of the magazine are available online.

Future Anterior is a scholarly journal that focuses on contemporary issues in historic preservation from the interdisciplinary perspective of art, philosophy, law, geography, archeology, planning materials science, cultural anthropology, and conservation.

Preservation is a magazine produced by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization that saves historic American properties. Back catalogs of the magazine are available online.

National Register of Historic Places (National Park Service) offers a nationally recognized list of historic properties as well as information on nominating sites to the register. For information on nominating a property see articles "How to List a Property" and "Sample Nominations."

“What You Need to Know about Listing on the National Register” is a how-to guide to listing on the National Register of Historic Places, published by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.

National Register Guide Stories is a series of six videos offering tips and tools for using the National Register of Historic Places.

National Map of the United States offers several types of national maps, including historical topographic, hydrographic, and 3-D topographic maps. The site also offers downloadable small scale maps and information on the Public Land Survey System.

Norman B. Leventhal Map Center is a non-profit organization located at the Boston Public Library with a collection of over 200,000 maps and atlases. There are over 7,700 digitized maps and atlases available through their website.

The Boston Atlas is an interactive tool that allows users to view and layer contemporary and historic views of Boston.

Massachusetts Historical Society: Massachusetts Maps offers a digital collection of over one hundred maps of Massachusetts.

A project by the State Library featuring a list of online map and atlas repositories with an emphasis on Boston and New England.

Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS) allows users to search the Massachusetts Historical Commission database for information on historic properties.

Massachusetts Land Records is a site that offers access to land records across the state.

Suffolk Registry of Deeds offers several resources pertaining to property deeds including assessor plans, old recorded land plans, and historic atlases.

City of Boston: Assessing Online offers parcel data including assessed value, location, ownership and tax information for properties in Boston.

City of Boston: Permit Search has archives of permits for construction on properties in the city.

a research guide prepared by the Boston Public Library for researching a particular property in Massachusetts. For further information on accessing physical copies of construction permits and plans, contact the Fine Arts research department at the BPL (please note that in order to contact the BPL for these permits, you must be a Massachusetts resident).

The National Parks Service plays a significant role in national preservation in the United States and is involved in several preservation partnerships to document historical sites, develop industry standards, and provide financial and technical assistance to external organizations. The NPS oversees the National Historic Landmark Program, which recognizes historically significant properties and sites in the United States, and the Heritage Documentation Programs, which administer the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Records (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS). Their site offers many useful articles and guidelines including preservation standards for Sustainable Tourism, a list of Preservation Briefs, Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and Engineering Documentation HABS/HAER Standards, a copy of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, information on Tax Incentives for Historic Properties, and a National Registry of historic sites (see above: Registries).

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is an independent federal agency that has the legal responsibility to advocate historic preservation requirements for projects produced by other federal agencies. The Council also acts as the primary advisor of federal preservation policy to the President and Congress to protect the nation's heritage. The ACHP website offers several reports on the economic impact of preservation.

Library of Congress: HABS/HAES/HALS is a digital database that offers a variety of resources from historic photographs to drawings to rare documents that are housed in HABS/HAES/HALS (Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Survey/Historic American Landscapes Survey) collections at the Library of Congress.

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Historical Commission hosts practical resources for the state's preservation plan, guidelines, funding, and programming.

Massachusetts Public Safety: Building Codes offers articles discussing building codes and regulations in the state.

AIC offers several resources for professionals and students in conservation, including articles, publications, scholarships, and professional database.

APT is a global organization for preservationists with local chapters around the world. APT offers a range of professional development opportunities including webinars, conferences, and workshops. They also oversee the APT Building Technology Heritage Library, a digital collection of primarily North American pre-1964 architectural trade catalogs, house plan books, and technical building guides.

TCLF is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and documentation of landscape heritage. Their website includes city and regional guides of landscape heritage and a digital database of landscape heritage sites around the world.

Getty Conservation Institute is a non-profit organization that conducts scientific research, educates and trains those involved or interested in conservation, and disseminates the results of field research. They also partner with several other organizations in ongoing conservation projects and resources.

ICCROM is an international, intergovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage. ICCROM consists of an active international network of professionals and offers knowledge, tools, and training to conservators worldwide.

DOCOMOMO is an organization dedicated ot the conservation and documentation of historically significant architectural projects in the modern movement. DOCOMOMO has a chapter in the United States.

Institute of Conservation is an organization based in the United Kingdom that offers resources for professional conservators, including conferences, publications, and professional standards.

ICOMOS is the only global non-government organization that is dedicated to the conservation of protection of cultural heritage sites. They have a chapter in the United States.

UNESCO is an intergovernmental organization formed after World War II designed to build international networks that result in peaceful and intellectual solidarity. UNESCO's missions include protecting freedom of expression, encouraging scientific cooperation, and conserving heritage and cultural diversity. One of UNESCO's projects is the World Heritage Centre, designed to encourage nations to engage in cultural and heritage preservation and to protect sites on the World Heritage List that have been selected according to a strict set of World Heritage Criteria.

World Monuments Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the accelerating destruction of important global monuments. The organization conserves these cultural heritage sites through direct technical and financial support.

Conservation OnLine is a platform of online tools and archived publications for conservation professionals.

CyArk is a website that offers a free 3-D library of photographic panoramas of world heritage sites.

a blog entry by Abby Crawford on Sketchfab that provides a step-by-step guide to photogrammetry.

a networking organization geared towards preservation professionals.

a web resource maintained by Cornell University students. It is designed to provide preservationists with an up-to-date database of online resources and current professional opportunities.

National Park Service page providing information about the laws, regulations, and orders that guide the historic preservation work done by the NPS.

National Park Service page providing information preserving, rehabilitating, and restoring historic buildings. These NPS Publications help historic building owners recognize and resolve common problems prior to work.

This page contains guidelines for creating historical reports for the Historic American Buildings Survey, Historic American Engineering Record, and Historic American Landscapes Survey, outlined by the NPS.

This page provides information about the National Park Service's standards and guidelines that guide preservation work at the national, tribal, state, and local levels.

This page contains information about UNESCO's criteria for selecting World Heritage Sites