Infusing Digital Curation Competencies into the SLIS Curriculum

The unprecedented rate of growth of digital information requires professionals with digital curation skills and knowledge. However, education and training programs are inadequate to meet the demand. An infusion of digital curation competencies into the Library and Information Science curriculum is required to ensure that today’s digital assets are available today and tomorrow. The purpose of this paper is to describe the ways in which Digital Curation Competencies are integrated into the MLIS curriculum at San José State University. Course descriptions are provided for several MLIS courses, and a crosswalk is presented demonstrating the correlation between the MLIS core competencies supported by those courses and the operational and professional core competencies identified as necessary for Digital Curators. One course, Professional Experiences: Internship, is offered as an effective way for students to apply their digital curation skills and knowledge in the real world, either by working on site or working remotely. Keywords—Digital curation, core competencies, curriculum, internship