Historians in the course of their work may assemble valuable data on early residents of their community and may share portions of that data, if available, in response to genealogical requests. However they are not authorized to conduct genealogical research on demand. Neither Town Law nor any other statute authorizes a town to make expenditures for the benefit of individuals seeking information about their ancestry. . Local historians have often found it expedient to keep on file a list of contract genealogists who may be contacted to provide such services. The Local Government Historian is not part of an historical agency staff.
Many local historians are active members of their local historical society.
However, the office of Local Government Historian is a demanding one. It should not be diluted by the appointment of one individual to be local historian and, at the same time, director of an historical agency. Moreover, a strong potential for conflict of interest exists in this practice. The director of an historical agency is primarily responsible to a board of trustees for the direction of a private membership organization. The local historian is a public officer obliged under the public officers law to provide equal service to all the citizens of his or her jurisdiction.