The library has always gladly accepted any recommendations from students, staff, and faculty for additions to the library. The librarians observe borrowing trends, read up on the latest literature, and work with faculty and the curriculum to ensure student success. The library regularly has displayed collections on a variety of traditional topics, such as Black History Month and Gay Pride; student staff organized ideas, such as Blind Date with a Book and Spooky Books (Halloween); and centered around events and topics important to our university, such as DelVal History and One Health.
In initiating this project, the library – partnered with the President’s Commission on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging – wish to codify our commitment to amplifying marginalized voices and building a truly diverse and inclusive collection. By inviting the student community to be directly involved in the library’s collection development, we aim to deepen our connection with the community and become part of a wider transformational dialogue for the university. We also see a connection to our experiential learning program at DelVal. By participating in this project, students will have to learn and use a range of practical skills, such resource curation, poster creation, information presentation, project management, time management, and liaising.
Special thanks to the University of Surrey for sharing their experiences and inspiring us to start our own Student Curator Project.
Stephen, C., Batson, C., Surget, S., and Weller, J. (2020). Student Curator Project at the University of Surrey: Encouraging and Embracing Inclusivity and Diversity Through a Staff-Student Partnership. Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education 1(31), 1-7. https://repository.brynmawr.edu/tlthe/vol1/iss31/6
The intention is to have a student curator every term, but the timeline will be adjusted as needed if applications and funding vary.
Fall Term Curator
April, open applications for Fall Student Curators.
May 1st Fall Student Curator chosen and informed.
May to end of August, Student Curator creates list (loose annotated bibliography) with books numbered in the order of purchase preference. The library will buy as many of the selected books as the budget allows.
September, the library receives the list, purchases the books, and catalogs them into the collection. Student Curator works with Marketing, the E360 Blog and the Library to develop any signage and promotional materials related to the launch of this collection.
After Fall Break, launch collection. Physical display, virtual display, blog and media coverage.
Spring Term Curator
October, open applications for Spring Student Curators.
Nov 1st, Spring Student Curator chosen and informed.
November to end of January, Student Curator creates list (loose annotated bibliography) with books numbered in the order of purchase preference. The library will buy as many of the selected books as the budget allows.
February, the library receives the list, purchases the books, and catalogs them into the collection. Student Curator works with Marketing, the E360 Blog and the Library to develop any signage and promotional materials related to the launch of this collection.
After Spring Break, launch collection. Physical display, virtual display, blog and media coverage.