CMC OM - Historian

Revised August 2022

The CMC historian is appointed by the club President.  There is no term limit – length of tenure is decided in cooperation with the President. He/she presents and interprets CMC’s history in order to shape or build upon public knowledge of past events. The historian traces and builds a historical profile of the CMC.

The following are specific duties:

1. Gather historical data from various sources, including archives, books, artifacts, and electronic files
2. Analyze and interpret historical information to determine its authenticity and significance in regard to include or exclude from CMC’s history collection
3. Archive or preserve materials and artifacts by making periodic accessions and documenting those accessions to the UNCA Special Collections Ramsey Library, where the archive of CMC records reside.  The accessions include updates to previously established Record Series or a new Record Series created at the discretion of the Historian.
4. Provide advice or guidance on historical topics and preservation issues to both CMC members and the general public
5. Write reports and articles to include summaries of CMC activities at such times as anniversaries of the club at the direction of the CMC Council
6. Maintain a list of all material given to the library with the information how the information came to the historian and when it was given to the library.
7. Since the most accessible history of our club is on our website, maintain a relation with Technology people and make sure that files such as eNews, Let’s Go, Council Minutes, interviews, etc.; are posted on our website.

Communication Responsibilities

Who Needs to Know What This Job is Doing?          

Communication can be with all members of CMC but is primarily with CMC Council.

Does This Job Work Depend on Information from Anyone Else?

Information can come from everyone associated with CMC but primarily comes from the activities of CMC Council and information on the CMC website.

Comments (What else is important?)

CMC archive is located at the D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, One University Heights, Asheville, NC 28804-8504, 828 251-6645.  The website for the CMC collection is: http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/CMC/default_carolina_mountain_club.htm

An enormous amount of information is available at this website pertaining to CMC and the role of the historian.

Skills Needed: 

1. Ability to travel to UNC-Asheville to access the CMC archive.
2. Willingness to be available to the CMC Council to receive historical and contemporary documents to become part of the CMC archive.

Time Required: 

The CMC historian position can range anywhere from a full time 40 hour a week job or can take less than an hour a month depending on how involved the club historian becomes.