Buffalo County Historical Society
The following list of volunteers is by no means the complete list of volunteer opportunities available at the Buffalo County Historical Society. If you can think of a project or need that we may need filled, or find one below you are interested in, feel free to contact us and see if we can help you out!
Exhibit Designer
Helps design exhibits in the BCHS office as well as other exhibit areas throughout Buffalo County. This person must have a love of local history, a keen eye for what visitors may find appealing, and know, or be willing to learn, Buffalo County’s rich history as well as standard artifact handling policies and procedures.
Genealogy Research
Handles genealogy requests that are submitted to the Buffalo County Historical Society. This person must have a basic understanding of genealogical research processes and be willing to learn about genealogical records located in the BCHS office and courthouse.
General Office Work
Helps in the BCHS office with general office tasks such as photocopying, assembling the newsletter and other mailings, cleaning, organizing, filing, etc. This person should be able to spend time standing or sitting for a longer period of time and handle repetitive tasks such as stapling, folding, filing, and more.
Social Media Guru
Helps manage the Buffalo County Historical Society’s social media accounts. This person should be “fluent” in Facebook, Twitter, and more. This volunteer may be able to accomplish much of the work outside of the BCHS office (such as home, coffee shop, internet café, etc.), but would need to gather information from the office to use in our social media campaigns.
Graphic Designer
The Buffalo County Historical Society would love to use more professional graphics in many of its publications and daily operations. This person would help with graphics for public events and programs that the BCHS has throughout the year. Much of this work can be done outside of the BCHS office (such as home, coffee shop, internet café, etc.).
Newspaper Indexing
The BCHS collections contain newspapers from over 150 years of Buffalo County History. To make these papers more research friendly, we have several indexing projects planned. This person should be able to use a Windows PC with Excel and general software knowledge. Most of the time will be spent using one of our microfilm readers so the ability to look at a screen for the amount of time volunteerinig is key.
Event Help
The BCHS hosts several events throughout the year and there is always a need for help setting up, tearing down, staffing informational tables, running the sound system, videotaping, providing baked goods, and more.
Historical Research
The BCHS is always looking for help researching local history for exhibits, publications, our website, and more. This person should be able to perform research tasks using primary and secondary sources in the BCHS office and the Buffalo County Courthouse. If willing, research can sometimes be completed in other archives and locations in the area.
Programming
The BCHS office is always looking for speakers and willing participants to help bring Buffalo County’s rich history to the general public. If you have a story to share with others and it has a connection to Buffalo County, let us know! We can work with you to create a public presentation.
Processing Collections
Items donated to the BCHS go through a process of cataloging that takes time and some effort to complete. We are always looking for volunteers to help us catalog these items into our searchable database (using PastPerfect museum software). This volunteer will be given training to use PastPerfect but should be comfortable using a PC. Because of the delicate nature of some of our artifacts and archival materials, standard artifact handling policies and procedures will be taught and must be followed.