Since its foundation, ICOMOS has been dedicated to providing a broad collection of important documents on the “principles, techniques and policies for the conservation of monuments,” as stated in our Statutes.
Made up of donations by ICOMOS National Committees and International Scientific Committees from across all the continents of the world, our resources are truly international. They are also original, reflecting the diversity and specialised nature of ICOMOS members and network, with numerous documents that are difficult to locate elsewhere.
The ICOMOS Documentary Resources (both physical and digital) include over 40,000 titles covering almost all countries in more than 50 languages, over 600 periodicals, and over 40,000 graphic documents (slides, photographs, plans, etc.), as well as the original nomination files for World Heritage cultural or mixed properties.
The ressources cover a broad range of topics, including various forms of heritage, from historic monuments and sites to cultural landscapes and intangible heritage. We have resources that explore conservation and restoration philosophy and theory, material science and engineering, as well as social sciences applied to heritage fields. Amongst these, we have a significant number of resources that address current, practical issues of heritage management, including risk preparedness, human rights, climate change, and sustainable development.
Every resource available to the public is referenced on PUBLICOMOS, the ICOMOS documentary platform, with the full document attached when possible. PUBLICOMOS offers simple, advanced and thematic search options and provides shortcuts to major ICOMOS publications. You can set it to display in English, French or Spanish.
You can create a PUBLICOMOS account to save selections, create alerts and even make your own contributions to the ICOMOS Documentary Resources, via peer-reviewed, open access publications.
As part of ICOMOS’ role as Advisory Body to UNESCO World Heritage Committee, since 1978, the ICOMOS Documentation Centre has been the primary repository for original documents on cultural and mixed (natural and cultural) World Heritage properties. These documents, relating to the nomination and evaluation process, are available to consult on site at the ICOMOS headquarters or digitally, to a large extent, on the World Heritage Centre website.
Housed at the ICOMOS Headquarters in Greater Paris, the ICOMOS Documentation Centre is a major resource on cultural heritage, historic monuments and sites, conservation and restoration, with a vast range of books, periodicals, documents, slides, photographs, plans and more. With a highly specialised bibliographical collection, it is home to specific expert and archival documents on all manner of cultural sites and topics.
No. Documents may be consulted at the Documentation Centre but loans are not possible.
Visitors may photocopy journal articles and book chapters for their private use only, and only if their state of conservation allows to do so safely.
ICOMOS members can order photocopies of documents from the Documentation Centre. This includes unlimited scans or photocopies of ICOMOS-authored and public domain documents (usually 70 years after the death of the author), as well as limited photocopies of documents under copyright: up to 10% of the pages of a book and 20% of the pages of a periodical.
This service is for members only. Photocopying is free, posting charges must be paid for by the member who makes the copy request.
Copying limitations follow French copyright law according to our contract with the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (French Copyright Centre, CFC).
Yes. Many international ICOMOS publications, and some ICOMOS Committee publications, are for sale at the Documentation Centre, but they must be ordered in advance.
Accordingly pre-payment is required, and can be made via Paypal, by debit or credit card, or by bank transfer. Postage is charged accordingly.