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Historic Preservation

or how to keep your historic home in one piece…

The Madison-Jefferson County Public Library has many resources to help you fix, preserve and restore your old homes and buildings that are prevalent in the Downtown Madison Historic District and throughout Jefferson County. This collection was developed in part through a project of Madison’s Cornerstone Society.

Browse the stacks

When you’re browsing for books about historic preservation and restoration and historic architecture try the following Dewey Decimal Numbers in the lower level of the library:

363.6 and 363.69 — Historic preservation
643.7, 690.2 and 694 — Maintenance, restoration, etc.
720, 721 and 728 — Historic architecture
747 — Interior design (including historic interiors).

Internet and catalog search tips
Search terms to use with our online catalog or when searching the Internet:
When searching our online catalog for books, try using the word “historic” in front of other words such as: buildings, houses, preservation, restoration and architecture.

We also have many books on general home repair and construction as well. Try the specific topic such as bricks or “dwellings maintenance”

Books

Here is a sampling of the books available:

643.7 KIT — “Caring for Your Historic House: a Guide for Owners and Residents.” by Judith Kitchen, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1995.

690.2 HIS — “Historic Building Facades: the Manual for Maintenance & Rehabilitation.“ by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. c1997.

728 HUR — Barn Again! A guide to barn rehabilitation
By Mary Humstone. c1997.

363.6 PRE — “Preservation Yellow pages: the complete information source for homeowners, communities and professionals.” By Julie Zagars. c1997.

720.28 UNI — “Respectful rehabilitation : answers to your questions about old buildings.” By the National Park Service, Technical Preservation Services Division. c1982.

747 MAC — “Decorative Style: The most original and comprehensive sourcebook of styles, treatments, techniques and materials.” by Kevin McCloud. 1990.

747.4 VON— “Floor Coverings for Historic Buildings: a guide to selecting reproductions.” by Helene Von Rosenstiel and Gail Caskey Winkler.

643.7 HUT — “Restoring houses of brick & stone“ by Nigel Hutchins. c.1982.

“Preservation Briefs” pamphlets & booklets

Located on the library balcony in our History-Genealogy Department is a full set of “Preservation Briefs” from the U.S. Department of Interior— Preservation Assistance Division. The division has issued a series of briefs to assist owners and developers of historic properties.

A few titles include: Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings, Aluminum and Vinyl Siding on Historic Woodwork, Repair of Historic Wood Windows, Rehabilitating Interiors in Historic Buildings, and many more.

Also on the balcony are numerous pamphlets, booklets and Preservation Tech Notes. Here are two of the titles:
“Guide to Older and Historic Houses, A Guide to Tax-Advantaged Rehabilitation”
“Windows: Aluminum Replacement Windows with True Divided Lights, Interior Piggyback Storm Panels, and Exposed Historic Wooden Frames.“

Human sources

All projects changing the exterior appearance of a structure in the downtown Madison historic district must be approved by the Madison Historic District Board of Review. For details, contact City Hall at (812) 265-8324.

Asking for help during the project— planning stages can make your project and board approval easier. Try these folks for design and technical assistance: Historic Madison Inc. at (812) 265-2967 and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana at (812) 285-9923.

Websites



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