Research Guides: Geography/Geology: Historic Preservation

Course Materials

For a list of print books that have been placed on reserve at the Library Services Desk, please see the library's GHPR Course Reserves page.

For a list of eBooks that are used in Historic Preservation courses, please see GHPR - Library Ebooks Used in Classes.

Conducting Historical Research Online

The Conducting Historical Research Online (opens in a new tab) research guide, created by the EMU University Archives, gives you a comprehensive listing of resources available online for historical research. It includes tips to get started and perform your historical research, as well as a vast (but by no means exhaustive) listing of various resources organized into categories and, in some cases, geography.

Databases

The following databases, in addition to the general Geography and Geology databases, may be useful in identifying relevant material in Historic Preservation research:

America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
Subjects: American History
Info type: scholarly articles, magazine articles, book & video info, dissertation info
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Subjects: World History (excludes U.S. and Canada)
Info type: scholarly articles, book info
Indexing of historical articles from more than 2,600 journals in over 40 languages; Access to the full text of more than 400 journals and 140 books; Coverage dates as far back as 1954, with some coverage for titles back to the early 20th century
MyHeritage This link opens in a new window
Access to Census data and city directories. Made available via MeLCat.Tips on locating city directory entries using MyHeritage.
Sanborn Insurance Maps - Michigan This link opens in a new window
Detailed historical town and city maps from 1880s to 1950s. To see the maps in color, use the Library of Congress' collection (note, however, that the LOC digitized collection does not contain all maps).

Ebooks

ACLS Humanities Ebooks This link opens in a new window
Subjects: History, African American Studies, Art, Architecture, Literature
Info type: full text ebooks

Associations

Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation
"The Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation is an inter-disciplinary professional organization which provides a forum for communication and exchange of information among its members. It is dedicated to the preservation and conservation of historic landscapes in all their variety, from formal gardens and public parks to rural expanses."
American Planning Association Urban Design and Preservation Division
"A nationwide community of professionals dedicated to supporting educational and networking opportunities for planners, urban designers, preservationists, and allied professionals. We offer great opportunities to promote these topics within the field of planning and within the APA."
Association for Preservation Technology International
"A multi-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for protecting historic structures and their settings."
National Alliance of Preservation Commissions
Founded in 1983 to assist local preservation commissions with accomplishing their objectives, "NAPC provides technical support and manages an information network...[and] also serves as an advocate at federal, state and local levels of government to promote policies and programs that support preservation commission efforts."
National Trust for Historic Preservation
"The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support the preservation of America’s diverse historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage through its programs, resources, and advocacy." (Wikipedia)

Websites

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
"The ACHP promotes the preservation, enhancement, and sustainable use of the nation’s diverse historic resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy."
Detroit Historic District Map
Map of historic districts in Detroit, linked to official reports of the Historic Designation Advisory Board.
Detroit Public Library Digital Collections
Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
"Administered since 1933 through cooperative agreements with the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, and the private sector, ongoing programs of the National Park Service have recorded America's built environment in multiformat surveys comprising more than 581,000 measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories for more than 43,000 historic structures and sites dating from Pre-Columbian times to the twentieth century. This online presentation of the HABS/HAER/HALS collections includes digitized images of measured drawings, black-and-white photographs, color transparencies, photo captions, written history pages, and supplemental materials."
Michigan Historic Preservation Network: Researching-Listing a property
Useful resources for researching a historic property.
Michigan State Historic Preservation Office
"The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) evaluates, protects and promotes Michigan’s historic built environment and archaeological sites."
National Park Service
National Park Service - State Historic Preservation Offices
"State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) play a critical role carrying out many responsibilities in historic preservation. Surveying, evaluating and nominating significant historic buildings, sites, structures, districts and objects to the National Register is one such key activity."
National Park Service Technical Preservation Services
"Technical Preservation Services develops historic preservation standards and guidance on preserving and rehabilitating historic buildings, administers the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program for rehabilitating historic buildings, and sets the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties."
National Register of Historic Places
"The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources."
Preservation Detroit
"Founded in 1975, Preservation Detroit is the city's oldest and largest preservation organization. "
PreservationDirectory.com
"Our comprehensive directory of historic and cultural resource organizations provides detailed information for organizations located in each State and Province in the United States and Canada dedicated to the preservation of historic structures and buildings, the protection and care of cultural resources, and the revitalization of downtown districts and the preservation of main street and community."
Washtenaw County Historic Preservation Program
"The Washtenaw County Historic Preservation Program is dedicated to supporting local historic districts, spurring heritage tourism, and attracting investment in our historic resources. It is Michigan's only county-wide Certified Local Government - providing access to additional economic development resources."

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