Rethinking Curation in School Libraries and School Library Education: Critical, Conceptual, Collaborative

Abstract

School library educators often assign a curation assignment to preservice school librarians in the university classroom. However, these projects emphasize a product created by librarians for teachers and learners, rather than the collaborative and critical process that the National School Library Standards suggest. In this paper, we draw on data from a qualitative inquiry of several courses for preservice school librarians, looking at both curation assignment descriptions and the final products. Through a systematic content analysis of these projects, we have found that these assignments often fall short in asking our learners to critically consider conceptual connections and diverse perspectives. To this end, we identify revisions to these assignments that reframe curation as a collaborative, conceptual, critical endeavor.