Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties are common sense historic preservation principles in non-technical language. They promote historic preservation best practices that will help to protect our Nation's irreplaceable cultural resources.
The Standards offer four distinct approaches to the treatment of historic properties: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. Guidelines for each approach offer general design and technical recommendations to assist in applying the Standards to a specific property. Together, they provide a framework and guidance for decision-making about work or changes to a historic property.
The National Park Service's Technical Preservation Service's office publishes state-of-the-art information about caring for historic buildings. The publications are used by historic preservation professionals; Federal, State, and local government officials and historic property owners. Many local preservation commissions nationwide have adopted the Secretary's Standards and Guidelines, and information from the Preservation Briefs is referenced in architectural specifications.
The collection includes Standards and Guidelines, leaflets and books on using the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives, reports on conserving fragile historic building materials, case studies on specific structures, and a wealth of technical guidance on preserving historic buildings and landscapes. Many of the publications are available for purchase through the Government Printing Office. Others are available free of charge. Technical Preservation Services also works with partners to co-publish materials that are available through those partners.