Curating with Carol

Background

Carol Smith is the Teacher Librarian at North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary (NCCAE). NCCAE is a school located in North Charleston, South Carolina and serves pre-K through 5th grade.
There are 460 students at this arts-focused school, and each student has the opportunity for intense instruction in visual arts, performing arts and music.
The library at NCCAE runs on a flexible schedule meaning that it is open for checkout anytime during the day and teachers sign-up to come to the library for collaborative projects or alternative workspaces. 

The Standard

The AASL defines the competency of curating in the following way:

"Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance"

How She Does It

Carol was fortunate to be the first librarian at NCCAE and was heavily involved in developing the collection. In fact, she got to select every single book in the library. In her free time, she "reads" her shelves, moving misshelved books to the right spot and refreshing her memory of where titles are located. She believes that knowing her collection is the first step at being adept at curating.

Carol can often be seen doing reader's advisory and recommends that librarians talk to their students one on one to find their interests. She likes to "serve them with books!".

With a flexible schedule, Carol often co-teaches with the classroom teachers, coming alongside them both in the planning phase through assessment. This often involves curating a collection of materials that support the standards, as well as ensuring that the materials are appropriate for the interest and reading levels of the students.

Carol advises that librarians should "read the books on (their) shelves". Librarians need to know their collection so that they can direct students and continue to curate meaningful collections. She states "students need to be able to trust your recommendations".


Carol keeps herself apprised of all of the book award committee activities, especially the South Carolina Association of School Librarian Book Awards. She does this so that she can be both specific and personal in her purchases and recommendations.

Additionally, she keeps a running list of books that students request and has both a suggestion box and a clipboard that is accessible to both students and teachers, the clipboard has a big sign that reads "I Want..."

Final Thoughts

By soliciting requests from all stakeholders, Carol can be sure that she has a collection that is meaningful and useful. She ensures that she has collection (digital and print) from which she can curate a relevant and purposeful collection.

American Association of School Librarians (2018). National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago: American Library Association.

Curate. (n.d.). photograph. Retrieved from https://standards.aasl.org/shop/