Curation

As modes and types of information have evolved in the digital age, the umbrella term curation has come to cover an increasing number of different types of information management practices – from the technical work of museum specialists and scientists, to everyday online search tasks and social media use. This entry examines curation as a practice of harnessing existing information, filtering and contextualizing it through the application of criteria which assess and promote belief, and then re‐presenting it. Regardless of whether curation is performed by humans or algorithmically by machines, it is the intentional justifications made in the filtering process which link information to knowledge and make curation an act of agentive meaning‐making. Since curators hold the power to change narratives through the (re‐)contextualization of information, the filtering of information can be a source of controversy. Corporate‐driven algorithmic filters, information “bubbles,” and other potential sources of misinformation can all act as mediating agents in the curation process. Keen discernment over the reliability of text becomes critical to the outcome of its recontextualization. As stewards of information and producers of knowledge, digital curators must cultivate discernment in their curation practices as a means of safeguarding information and advancing knowledge creation.