toolkits - preservation resources

Twentieth Century Building Materials: History and Conservation

GCI/NPS
Published 2014
Accessed: 01.01.2023

Thomas Jester’s updated edition available from Amazon. It was first published in 1995 by the National Park Service but has been updated with a new preface from the original author. It includes essays from leading experts, illustrations, and technical information on how to care for materials including linoleum, plywood, and glass block.

Published by Getty Conservation Institute, 2014.
Paperback book

Technical Preservation Services' Preservation Briefs

National Park Service
Accessed: 01.01.2023

Preservation Briefs 1-50 provide guidance on preserving, rehabilitating, and restoring historic buildings. These NPS Publications help historic building owners recognize and resolve common problems prior to work. The briefs are especially useful to Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program applicants because they recommend methods and approaches for rehabilitating historic buildings that are consistent with their historic character.

Some of the web versions of the Preservation Briefs differ somewhat from the printed versions. Many illustrations are new and in color rather than black and white; Captions are simplified and some complex charts are omitted. Quoted from the website.

Published by the National Park Service.
Online version of a Preservation Brief; print version available to order through the website.

Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings

National Park Service’s Technical Preservation Services
Published 1992
Some updates 1995
Reprinted 1997
Accessed: 01.01.2023

The Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings features color illustrations of Recommended and Not-Recommended treatments that are easy to apply to real-life situations. Topics include masonry, wood and metals, roofing and electrical systems, efficiency, accessibility and safety.

Published by Technical Preservation Services, part of the National Park Service.
Web version of a printed book, with some updates to images and information.