Candidates use evaluation criteria and selection tools to develop, curate, organize, and manage a collection designed to meet the diverse curricular and personal needs of the learning community. Candidates evaluate and select information resources in a variety of formats.

As a future librarian, I have been taught to look at my future collection as an active and adapting apparatus, which is constantly responding and changing to the environment and needs of the users. That was the main idea from LLT 550: Collecting and Curating Print and Digital Resources, as well as the Core Assignment. I was tasked with selecting a specific section within a collection, assess its current materials with user needs, develop a vision and update it with new materials. 

The artifact was designed to meet the needs of an elementary school library. In looking through the collection, most of the books that were a part of the nonfiction section detailed the stereotypical American experience and didn't really expand on that fact, especially when it came to books about holidays and celebrations. My focus was to incorporate more titles on holidays around the world and those that are celebrated by different groups of people. Elementary students all come from different backgrounds and traditions, therefore each story would appeal to different readers, including learning about new customs or cultures. 

I curated the collection list using the following selection tools: 

• Booklist 

• Goodreads

• Kirkus Reviews

• NetGalley 

• B&N Reads

I looked for quality titles that would be appropriate for the age group and included favorable and trusted reviews. Through the assignment, I learned to look into condition and cost of materials, but was truly most focused on the idea of inclusion. Though the books I have chosen in the artifact are in print, I would also consider digital materials for my future collection as well since digital collections have grown in popularity. Whether these materials would be purchased in print or digitally, they would add to the diversity of the collection and give students an opportunity to explore different resources through the materials that the library provides. 

Along with specific sections of the collection being an active setup, so too are the reference portions of a library's collection. This was part of LLT 510: Information Resources and Services. For the final of the course, I made a reference collection for my high school's library and spoke about the target audience and rationale behind it. 

This artifact was designed to support the needs of a high school library. Most of the reference books that were already present in the collection were not current and the library was in need of more space to incorporate the new Makerspace, so the goal was to size down the resources into more digital than print. So, the collection contains eleven digital sources and five print resources. 

When I was completing the assignment, I was looking for current titles and databases that students could easily access and use in their own research. I was aiming for each subject to carry both a digital and physical resource. I believe that a healthy balance of digital and print resources can help students choose whatever format speaks to them so they can learn and research in a way that is comfortable. The inclusion of both digital and print resources is such an important part of an adaptable collection.