Selection & CURATION

The purchase of materials for your library should ultimately be approved by a teacher librarian, and the selection process guided by a selection policy that reflects your school library's philosophy and goals in supporting learning, literacy, intellectual freedom, and student achievement, as well as clearly stating what criteria are used for selection. 

Selection Tools

• Recommended Literature List - A searchable online database of recommended K-12 literature compiled by the California Department of Education

• Review Resources - A helpful linked list from the American Library Association of trusted review sites such as Booklist, Horn Book, Kirkus, and Voya 

• TeachingBooks - A marvelous resource free to California teachers and librarians, use TeachingBooks to read reviews, find award-winning titles, analyze your collection, listen to author read-alouds, and more

Be sure to also check out the Reader's Advisory page which includes more resources for reviewing books and library materials.

Organizing a library's collection is an important part of Collection Management - so important that Curate is one of the shared foundations of the National Library Standards (American Association of School Librarians [AASL], 2018). Where will the materials be placed for maximum use? How will they be grouped together? How will you promote and display them? How will you curate resources to best support the school's learning goals, curriculum, and special events? What information needs to be captured in cataloging and in the processing of the books, e.g. when labels are applied, that will help when materials are placed on shelves or displays? Curation is just as important with digital collections, just without the processing of physical materials.

Be sure to visit this helpful Knowledge Quest article with tips and best practices for curation.