So, I did what most of us do in this day & age, I "googled" it.
The definition of an historian: a student, writer, chronicler of history
The definition of an archivist: one who is in charge of an archives & its collection
Didn't we learn in grade school not to define a word by using the word? These definitions are vague & flawed, but I think you get the idea. An archivist cares for, describes & preserves records, documents for posterity. An historian uses those documents as evidence to prove, or disprove, the point of their writing.
As a public historian, I am not supposed to amass a collection* of documents pertaining to Greenwich history. I am supposed to look at those records, read, study, synthesize, then write & talk about Greenwich history. This blog is one attempt at that.
Recently, I received a package of documents pertaining to the United Presbyterian Church of East Greenwich. Mostly they are bits of ephemera that, singly, may not amount to much, but as a whole could be useful to someone studying local churches or local businesses. I plan on transferring the documents to the Gill Room so that they can be accessible to researchers. Here is a taste...
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| Documents relating to the UP Church of East Greenwich |
*Many of my colleagues do because there may not be a suitable repository available.
