Historic Preservation Advocacy Policy of the Society for Industrial Archeology (SIA)

The Society for Industrial Archaeology (SIA) has a stated interest in the preservation of our industrial heritage in its many forms and may choose to advocate for the preservation of significant historic industrial resources. With the aim of insuring that its advocacy is well founded and well-directed, the SIA Board of Directors (Board) has established a Historic Preservation Committee (Committee) The Committee will evaluate requests for SIA historic preservation advocacy according to the following guidelines and provide advisories to the Board for their action.

Contact for the SIA Historic Preservation Advocacy Committee

1. An advocacy request to the Board will only be considered for properties, artifacts and other heritage resources that have documented historical significance and integrity as those are defined by the National Register of Historic Places or a comparable national cultural resource agency. The request for advocacy must demonstrate that the resource is important at a national or regional level, though resources significant at a state level or, in exceptional cases, at a local level may be considered as well.

2. A request for advocacy must include a description on the status of the affected resource, the nature of the action or condition that threatens its preservation and the possible preservation options. Pertinent information to be considered includes the opinion of relevant historic preservation authority(ies), such as the State Historic Preservation Office, and experts in the area(s) in which the property’s significance lies. The Committee will evaluate the appropriateness of SIA advocacy in each instance on the quality of the information provided above. The committee may chose to contact additional people, as appropriate.

3. The Committee will submit an advisory to the Board for each request that it evaluates. The advisory, accompanied by the pertinent documentation, will recommend what action, if any, it deems appropriate for the Board’s consideration. The Board will make the final decisions on such actions.

Any person or organization requesting advocacy from the SIA must:

• Indicate their role and interest in making the request
• Explain why they believe that the intervention of the SIA would be beneficial.
• Identify who they wish the SIA to contact and why that person/organization has been identified. A contact address must be provided

The committee realizes that some situations requiring advocacy can be emergencies that requires fast action. The process described here will take several months. In exceptional cases the committee will endeavor to respond to crisis situation. The ability to do that will be based on the quality of information supplied and the ability of a volunteer committee to respond quickly. In emergencies the Board may be informed and polled via e-mail regarding decisions on advocacy.

SIA Historic Preservation Policy PDF