Editorial Review

Editorial Review By National Historic Landmarks Program Staff

Once you submit your initial draft nomination, NHL Program staff will review the nomination to ensure that it meets NHL standards for content, formatting, and style. Please note that the quality of the draft nomination will determine the number of revisions required by the staff, and may delay placement on a meeting agenda. Submitting an initial draft does not mark the end of the process; extensive revisions or rewriting may still be necessary. Once NHL staff deems the nomination complete, it is sent to outside scholars for critique. You may be asked to make further revisions to your draft nomination.

After Submission

When the nomination form is completed and submitted, your NHL contact (the reviewer) will review your nomination. He or she will edit the nomination and, if needed, make suggestions to strengthen the argument in the nomination.

At this stage, you may be asked to conduct additional research to address questions and/or concerns the reviewer has about the nomination.

When the nomination has been edited by you and the NHL reviewer, it is ready to move on to the final stage of review before it can be submitted to the Landmarks Committee.

Further Review

Following the practices used by most scholarly and academic presses, NPS uses an anonymous peer review system. Scholars from across the nation (peer reviewers) read the nomination in cooperation with the NHL staff to review and further edit and refine the nomination. Using this system ensures that the scholars who review the nomination provide a candid assessment.

These scholars are recognized subject-matter experts who have extensive knowledge in their respective fields. They may be academics or professionals in cultural resource management.

Generally, 2-3 scholars review each property. This ensures that the property is thoroughly vetted by leading experts in American history, architecture, and/or archeology as well as the history, architecture, and/or archeology associated with the nominated property.

Revision

The peer reviewers may suggest additional revisions to the nomination.

At this stage, you may be asked to conduct additional research or substantial editing to strengthen the nomination.

Please remember: Any revisions that NHL staff and/or peer reviewers ask you to do are designed to strengthen your nomination and, thus, the chances that your property may be designated as an NHL.