Interview with a Librarian - Crystal Smith

Image by Freepik

Curate

I had a moment to interview librarian Crystal Smith. Crystal Smith is a high school librarian at Blythewood High in Columbia, SC. She works alongside Amy Whitfield. During our meeting, we discussed the American Association of School Librarians shared foundation Curate. Read her thoughts and my reflections below. 

"Curation is all about finding what people need. When I think of our collection, I think 'What do they need?'" - Crystal Smith

Q: What are some examples of the ways in which you are implementing these competencies in your library program?

A: "I find resources for our library based on the curriculum being taught and curate resources for those subject areas. It's a continuous cycle of weeding the collection and adding to it to keep the collection up-to-date." "We also curate resources in Destiny through collections. If students have difficulty finding something, I'm going to create a collection of resources or show them a resource they can use to find what they are looking for."

Curating the perfect library collection is a continuous cycle. I also start with the standards to determine the academic needs of my students and then I focus on what my students enjoy reading. In essence, the collection should be able to answer the needs and wants of your patrons.

Q: What are some of the resources in your library program that you are using to implement these competencies?

A: "NoodleTools is probably the best resource we have. In NoodleTools the students can collect their research sources all in one place, link sources, and take notes. It helps them cite sources. Its a one-stop-shop." "Student can also make collections of their own in Destiny Discover."

In my library program at the elementary level students don't use NoodleTools or Destiny collections. However, I try to expose them to these resources to prepare them for the future. For now the best way to implement the competencies associated with curation is developing my collection to meet the needs of my students. To get students to curate their own resources, we focus on creating reading wish lists or reading logs. Or students list resources they used in research projects at a basic citation level. The key here is to adjust for your students needs.

Q: Do any of the competencies that you are implementing include collaboration with classroom teachers?  If so, please provide examples.

A: "I've collaborated with many teachers on projects. One of the projects that I love is the conflict in countries project. Many of our students have to do this project for Human Geography or World History. For this project they have to collect sources on the conflict between two countries. For example, Israel and Palestine or Ukraine and Russia. It's a great project for curation. Students really get a chance to learn about these countries and it's great time to teach them about research and finding good sources."

Q: What are some of the challenges that you face when trying to implement these competencies?

A: "There are several challenges to curation. One of the major challenges is getting students motivated to do quality research. Changing student and teacher mindsets. Getting them to use databases rather than Google. They often want to stick with what's familiar."

I'd have to agree. My students at the elementary struggle with the same thing. They don't want to do research unless it's easy. I try to find the most accessible student friendly databases for them to use. I also minimize the amount of steps they must complete in one class session. I want students to start using databases over Google. To accomplish this, I must make research manageable, attainable, and accessible.