archivist
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archivist
A person who works professionally in an archive and is responsible for collecting, organizing, preserving, and providing access to documents and other archival materials.
Der Archivar half mir, die alten Stadtpläne zu finden.
The archivist helped me find the old city maps.
'Der Archivar' (the archivist) is derived directly from 'das Archiv' (the archive). The ending '-ar' here, similar to 'Bibliothekar' (librarian), refers to a person who works professionally with the place or thing.
Ein Archivar kennt die Bestände seines Archivs sehr genau.
An archivist knows the holdings of his archive very well.
Verbs that describe the work of an archivist are often: 'bewerten' (to evaluate) documents, 'ordnen' (to organize), 'verzeichnen' (to catalogue), and 'erhalten' (to preserve). In addition, he 'berät' (advises) the archive's users.
Der Archivar muss entscheiden, welche Dokumente für die Zukunft erhalten bleiben sollen.
The archivist has to decide which documents should be preserved for the future.
When describing where you got information from, the phrasing 'der Archivar hat mir geholfen' (the archivist helped me) or 'der Archivar hat mir gezeigt' (the archivist showed me) is very common. The person is often connected with a helpful action.
Der Archivar der Stadt hat mir die alten Baupläne gezeigt.
The city archivist showed me the old building plans.
curator
'der Kurator' and 'der Archivar' both often work with collections, old materials, or important objects. That makes them easy to confuse. 'der Kurator' fits more with museums, galleries, or exhibitions: he selects objects, plans an exhibition, and explains a topic. 'der Archivar' works in an archive and mainly deals with documents: he organizes, preserves, and makes them available to others. In short: the curator presents and interprets objects for an exhibition; the archivist preserves and organizes records.
Im Stadtarchiv half mir der Archivar, alte Briefe meiner Großeltern zu finden.
At the city archive, the archivist helped me find old letters from my grandparents.
Der Kurator wählte für die neue Ausstellung zehn Bilder aus der Sammlung aus.
The curator selected ten paintings from the collection for the new exhibition.