Paul Grondahl reports in The Albany Times-Union that the state historian position has been downgraded, and that is not sitting well with many New York historians. State Museum officials recently appointed Devin Lander of Wynantskill, as the 16th State Historian. Lander was listed under Chief Curator of History Jennifer Lemak and Museum Director Mark Schaming instead of giving him full autonomy. "It was a huge slap in the face to us who toil out here under the misapprehension that what we do is not important," wrote Leigh Eckmair, historian in the town of Butternuts and village of Gilbertsville in Otsego County. The last state historian, Robert Weible, wants to restore the office's independence to, "serve the public interest rather than the internal manipulations of an entitled, mind-numbing bureaucracy." Weible blamed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration. "It's a weird combination of paranoia and narcissism," he said of his experience in the state bureaucracy. Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.