Historians — Tasks

Task statements

• Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
• Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
• Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
• Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet.
• Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
• Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.
• Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
• Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.
• Conduct historical research, and publish or present findings and theories.
• Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
• Recommend actions related to historical art, such as which items to add to a collection or which items to display in an exhibit.
• Research and prepare manuscripts in support of public programming and the development of exhibits at historic sites, museums, libraries, and archives.
• Speak to various groups, organizations, and clubs to promote the aims and activities of historical societies.
• Advise or consult with individuals and institutions regarding issues such as the historical authenticity of materials or the customs of a specific historical period.
• Interview people to gather information about historical events and to record oral histories.
• Trace historical development in a particular field, such as social, cultural, political, or diplomatic history.
• Coordinate activities of workers engaged in cataloging and filing materials.
• Collect detailed information on individuals for use in biographies.
• Teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, museums, and other research agencies and schools.
• Edit historical society publications.
• Translate or request translation of reference materials.