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Students Shape the Shelves 2024 Student Cohort

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Learn more about this Bryn Mawr College program:

https://guides.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/sss-internship

Student Participants:

Lidia Garcia Chach, Mel Goushian, Rosie Huang, Carey Klopfenstein, Ollie Shane, Charlee Thacker

LITS Staff Leaders:

Joyce Angelucci, Kate Blinn, Berry Chamness, Jennifer Coval, Amy Graham, Camilla MacKay, Laura Surtees, and Arleen Zimmerle

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The Students Shape the Shelves Internship has truly been one of the most lovely weeks and I am so lucky to have taken part in such a fantastic experience! As an English Major, there is never a time when I am not constantly consumed in pages upon pages of books. Although I heavily rely on books and libraries, I had not placed much thought into the process of acquisition before this week. Best put by Justin Moore, the manager of Uncle Bobbie’s, collecting books is a work of curation, just like any other art display. There is a remarkable amount of care and intention put into the curation of a book collection—whether those collections are at independent bookstores, public libraries like Ludington, or academic libraries like our very own enchanting locations of Canaday, Carpenter, and Collier. The independent bookstores we visited left me in awe of how much community input was reflected in the shelves of their stores; especially at Julia de Burgos and Uncle Bobbie’s.

At Julia de Burgos, the curation primarily focuses on Latine authors and the manager, Lisa, always maintains a shelf of free books which makes reading more accessible for everyone! Julia de Burgos is a piece of Taller Puertorriqueño which is a space that promotes dynamic arts and cultural programming. The community space that Julia de Burgos is centralized in is so unique and beautiful, and we were lucky enough to watch all the school children enter the space for programming. Lisa seemed to be quite familiar with a few of the students and even waved to them during our talks, and I found that so precious to see! A story that especially struck me was hearing how Scholastic wouldn’t partner with one of the neighborhood schools because of financial differences, so Julia de Burgos stepped in and provided their own book fair for the children at the school. Lisa even rounded book prices to $5 or $10 dollars so the books were accessible to the children’s $10 coupons provided for by the school. Lisa specifically recalled how one kid specifically said how one kid bought a book that said “Dominican” on the front cover so that he could show his dad since he had never seen his identity in print before—that is why representation and shaping shelves is so critical.

Uncle Bobbie’s crafts the perfect blends in a wide range of sections and the bookstore primarily sells work by BIPOC authors. Some of my favorite shelves at Uncle Bobbie’s were the Philadelphia Authors shelf and the Current Events shelf.

Public libraries, like Ludington, are constantly weeding and adding to their collection of books and other resources. I highly recommend getting a library card to support their efforts. Community input is extremely valuable! The continual shaping and support offered by libraries and bookstores is truly irreplaceable, and my week with SSS furthered my appreciation for having access to such spaces.

There are so many moving parts consecutively occurring at every library that need to be facilitated, so I want to shout out all the fantastic libraries on our very own campus! They do so much work to bring in new material, from academic to pleasure readings, so go visit them—they love to talk about all things books and otherwise! I am so appreciative of how well-funded and cared-for our campus libraries are, and I have gained so much knowledge from everyone involved in this internship. In entering the internship, I knew I wanted to prioritize authors from BIPOC and/or Latine backgrounds and to do this I wanted to focus on the speculative fiction genre, however, as the week continued, I found myself drawn to memoirs and poetry as well. Engaging in texts that tell experience through different forms is just as important when expanding reading taste. I hope my collection offers a new balance of POC voices through a variety of forms (from memoir to poetry, to speculative function, and more!) to our Bryn Mawr Libraries. The act of reading is the foundation for forming communities and maintaining history, for inside our books is where we can find ourselves and others.

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Rosie browsing the shelves at Julia de Burgos Bookshop

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One thing that I liked about Julia de Burgos Bookshop was the bookshelf with free books. I was impressed by dedication by the bookstore to making books and reading resources available to the larger community. The bookstore is housed in Taller Puertorriqueño, a community center, and the bookstore's profits support the other branches of the community center's art and education programs. By doing this, the bookstore is deeply connected with the community. Moreover, the book collections are also amazing. When I was visiting, I came across more contemporary fiction/poetry/memoir/scholarly works by authors from a diversified cultural/racial/geopolitical backgrounds than I had initially expected. I think the bookstore's attention to including a more diversified and representative body of works that dive into a wide variety of relevant world issues makes it not only give the marginalized groups more visibility but also give change to people from other backgrounds to better educate themselves.

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Mel finding a book on the shelves of Carpenter Library

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As someone who aspires to become a librarian, getting the opportunity to participate in Students Shape the Shelves was truly an invaluable experience for me. Before this internship, I was fortunate enough to have a considerable amount of first-hand experience working in libraries, both in public and academic settings. Still, my knowledge from the positions I’ve held has mostly been limited to day-to-day circulation tasks.

Coming into this experience, I was excited to learn more about what sort of processes and decisions go into growing and maintaining our collections here at Bryn Mawr. However, I did not anticipate how vastly this internship would expand my understanding and view of exactly how much thought and intention goes into curating library collections.

Everything from learning about the various factors that go into acquiring our materials, such as noting their relevant disciplines, understanding the terms of use for digital items, and of course budgeting, to the impressive work of navigating different avenues to find new and unique books, this week has exponentially expanded my appreciation for the work that our librarians do. And most significantly, having the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with my fellow interns was by far my favorite part of this experience. Lidia, Rosie, Charlee, Carey, and Ollie were each brilliant and kind, and everyone brought such a unique perspective to our discussions. I’m proud of the understanding we reached, because of our different perspectives, that determined the decisions we made for how we would like to grow Bryn Mawr’s collections.

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During this week, I had the opportunity to learn about different aspects of book acquisition and curation. It has been a unique experience that I will cherish because I got to engage with the Bryn Mawr library staff and the greater Philadelphia community. I applied for this internship because I wanted to help curate a wider selection of stories that represent the diverse voices of the Bryn Mawr College community. As an Indigenous Guatemalan student, I wanted to use the opportunity to look for books I want to read and that I hope my classmates will enjoy.

Throughout this internship, I learned about how each library and bookstore is unique in how they curate their collection and how they each look different depending on their community. I got the opportunity to ask questions about how they make money, where they buy books and the different events they host to help authors promote their books. Here is a little bit of what I learned during our visits to 3 different bookstores:

On our visit to Big Blue Marble, I learned that they curated their collection based on popular demand. They are located in a vibrant community that I would describe as a small village because everyone is familiar with each other. The bookstore has become a community staple and therefore they try to have a little bit of everything on their shelves.

Our next stop was Uncle Bobbie’s, where I was mesmerized by the diverse and vibrant collection of books they had. I recommend everyone go there once if possible. You can feel it when you enter through the door that each book has been selected with so much care and love. This is because they are very intentional with what they buy and how they display them.

Our visit to Julia de Burgos bookstore at Taller Puertorriqueño was so special. I enjoyed learning that Julia de Burgos seeks to not only sell books but to provide a safe space for the community. I loved hearing about the success story of how they were able to organize a book fair for children in a nearby school and how the kids loved being represented on the covers of books. The space that Taller Puertorriqueño has created is so beautiful; they offer so many different classes and workshops where the community can come together and grow. Seeing all the children enthusiastically entering the building after school was really nice.

I am thankful for the opportunity to have been part of such an amazing experience. Being able to select and buy books is a privilege that not many have, and therefore, I have taken my role very seriously. I also cannot possibly summarize all the things I learned this week, so I can only share a little bit of my experience. I want to encourage my peers to visit these bookstores and support them because the more books they sell, the more they can provide for the community. Lastly, I am very happy with the books I selected because I know they will shape the Bryn Mawr shelves, and I hope everyone can find their stories within the pages of these books.

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The role of bookstores and libraries in their communities is larger than I realized. They provide services beyond just those related to books, such as the support services offered by Ludington library and the programs that Julia de Burgos's proceeds help fund. During this week, I saw examples of how representation from bookstores had a positive impact. I noticed the bookstores had an emphasis on local authors, and that the community would make an effort to buy those books. I remember Jim Huang saying that in-person spaces will always have a role because of the ability to have someone who can recommend books to you.

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Before this internship, I had a lot of experience with libraries and bookstores. I work at Canaday Library's circulation desk and try to support local bookstores.

Through this internship, I learned the meaning and value of inclusivity on the shelves. The purpose of the internship was to bring in voices from various marginalized groups, based on race, gender, sexual orientation, dis/ability, immigration status, to name a few. This was central to how we approached our selections at the bookstores. We wanted to elevate these voices and chose to focus on the celebration of marginalized people. For example, I selected Daniel Deconstructed which focuses on a Latinx/o/e teenager who learns to embrace his neurodivergent nerdiness. Seeing how bookstores like Uncle Bobbie's and Julia de Burgos highlight the diverse narratives within their communities, only emphasized the need for us to include as many narratives as possible.

I want to pursue library science after graduation. As a librarian, I want to continue to make the shelves I shape inclusive of books not only about autism, but also race, ethnicity, gender, dis/ability, and sexual orientation. I know full well the power of seeing yourself represented in the books you read, and I want to continue that in my post-graduate jobs.

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Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan’s #MeToo Movement, Shiori Ito, translated by Allison Markin Powell

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Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan’s #MeToo Movement, Shiori Ito, translated by Allison Markin Powell

Black Box is a memoir by the Japanese journalist Shiori Ito, who is the first person in Japanese history to have gone public with the accusation of sexual assault by a senior at the workplace. The term "Black Box" in the book's title refers to a dual plight faced by sexual assault survivors. On the one hand, sexual assault often happens in a private space: as if within an enclosed "black box," there is usually no witness to the violence. On the other hand, Japan's legal and investigative systems operated behind closed doors. Ito faced significant obstacles when trying to prosecute the assault case. The systems, together with the profound shame culture rooted in the society, forced the survivors of sexual assault to remain in silence. Ito's memoir has sparked #MeToo movement in Japan, and her book raises prominent questions against an unjust social system that deepens the harm, stigmatizes, and silences the survivors. I first read this book in high school, and it challenged many of my preconceptions about gender-based violence and related social topics.

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Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

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Never Whistle at Night is a collection of dark and eerie short stories edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr. The anthology features tales written by Indigenous authors that delve into themes of horror, mystery, and the supernatural, often drawing from traditional Indigenous folklore and culture. Each story offers a unique exploration of Indigenous experiences and perspectives through the lens of speculative fiction, creating a captivating and thought-provoking read for fans of dark fiction and Indigenous literature alike.

This book has been on my radar since its release, I enjoyed reading it and wanted to share it with the Bryn Mawr community. It is important to highlight Indigenous authors and their stories because Indigenous literature serves as a means of cultural preservation, documenting traditions, languages, and histories. It also serves as a way of reclaiming the narratives, for long the voices of Indigenous people have been disregarded but through writing, they are now asserting the right to tell their own stories on their terms.

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Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan

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Brotherless Night is a novel by V.V. Ganeshananthan that explores the complexities of family, identity, and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora. The story follows the lives of a Tamil family living in Sri Lanka and later in America, focusing on the relationships between siblings and the impact of the Sri Lankan Civil War on their lives. Through richly drawn characters and poignant storytelling, Ganeshananthan delves into themes of loss, displacement, and the search for belonging, offering a nuanced portrayal of the immigrant experience and the enduring bonds of family.

Brotherless Night is an important story that I encourage everyone to read because, through the lens of the fictional family depicted in the book, as a reader you gain insight into the profound impact of displacement, loss, and trauma on individuals and their relationships. By humanizing these experiences, the author fosters empathy and understanding for a community whose struggles are often overlooked or misunderstood. This book is beautifully written and I recommend it to everyone, be prepared to shed tears.

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Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines by Joy Buolamwini 

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Unmasking AI is written by Joy Buolamwini, an AI researcher and activist. Buolamwini shares her journey and experiences uncovering biases and injustices in artificial intelligence systems. She discusses her research on algorithmic bias, particularly in facial recognition technology, and highlights the implications of such biases on society, particularly marginalized communities.

Buolamwini also explores the broader ethical considerations surrounding AI development and advocates for greater accountability, transparency, and inclusivity in the field. The book serves as a call to action to address the biases and ethical challenges inherent in AI technologies to ensure they serve all of humanity fairly and equitably. This book was recommended by Justin Moore, manager of Uncle Bobbie's, as we were talking about making sure to support the work of Black authors who are doing groundbreaking work on a variety of topics. This book is important and relevant to our present time, I encourage everyone to give it a read.

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The group outside Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books

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Uncle Bobbie’s is a Black-owned bookstore in Germantown that centers on providing Black stories and Black authors. On the power of seeing your community reflected in literature, Justin Moore, the manager, told us that there is something special about walking into a bookstore as a Black or brown person and seeing someone that looks like you on the cover and the pages.

The store is named after the founder Marc Lamont Hill’s uncle, whose house was a gathering place not only for their family to share food and conversation, but also to share ideas and literature, and to discuss the world around them. Hill's uncle is taught him about the importance of reading and activism. These beliefs informed the curation practice at Uncle Bobbie’s, which prioritizes giving platforms to marginalized voices that are often overlooked in the publishing world.

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Big Blue Marble's books reflect the diversity of their surrounding community. The bookstore accepts recommendations from its community members for books to include in the store. Jennifer Woodfin, the general manager, takes pride in the bookstore’s diverse children's literature selection because a large number of their consumers are parents of children and young teens. Even though it emphasizes diverse children's literature, the bookstore is filled with books for adults in the front room—everyone’s voice is represented. With recent renovations, Big Blue Marble took into account how community members use the space by turning the second floor, which patrons rarely browsed, into a tea room.

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At the BMC Bookshop, our conversation with Jim Huang centered around the change in operations and mission of publishing books. His aim is to provide a selection of books that reflects the Bryn Mawr community, which means he has to be extremely selective with which titles come into the pleasure reading section of books. In the past, the BMC Bookshop was run by a corporation that helps run university bookstores, however, the corporation that ran the bookshop lacked what Jim does through an independently run store—corporations lack community reflections. In order to truly forefront and reflect the Bryn Mawr community, Jim advocates for student workers to select from their reading tastes and publisher catalogues.

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Conversation with Allison Saltzman,  Senior Art Director of Ecco Press (HarperCollins) 

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Conversation with Allison Saltzman,  Senior Art Director of Ecco Press (HarperCollins) 

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Our meeting with Allison Saltzman, Art Director of Ecco Press was very insightful. She gave us a presentation on the work that goes into creating book covers and the different challenges the industry faces. She has worked in creating book covers for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, biographies, and many more. Her work is very popular: some book covers she has created include The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Just Kids by Patti Smith, and The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan. She shared that as the Art Director of ECCO press, she works on multiple covers at the same time and manages the creative aspect of each one. —Lidia

Previously, I knew little about book cover design. But Allison's inspiring talk allowed me to learn more about the designing process and the unseen procedure behind how an attractive book cover is created by the art director's team. We also learned about the different factors the publisher takes into consideration when designing hardcover books and paperbacks. But to my surprise, the author is involved in the book cover designing process only at a later stage. From the book covers Allison showed us in her presentation, I was especially attracted by the cover of The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan. On the cover, two swans are not looking at each other, and a third swan sticks its head out, representing temptation. The symbols allude to the plot of the novel, and it just makes me feel how creative and interactive the process of book cover designing might be. The talk also allowed me to learn more about a job that sounded so appealing to me (but which I didn't know in the past), especially when I learned that part of their job is to read through the fiction manuscripts to work on the cover. —Rosie

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Wild Grass and Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk, Lu Xun, Edited by Theodore Huters, Translated by Eileen J. Cheng

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This anthology is composed of translations of two volumes by Lu Xun, one of the founders of modern Chinese literature. Wild Grass is a collection of prose poems. The manic yet rhythmic verses provoke both lyrical beauty and philosophical inquiry into colonialized China's society at the turn of the twentieth century. Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk is a collection of ten nostalgic essays on the author's childhood memories and his journey of pursuing education during his youth. The reflections are genuine and witty, and they offer insights into the rich tapestry of Chinese culture and customs as well as poignant criticism of the ignorance of feudalistic dogmatism, alongside witness to the transformative changes of tumultuous modern China during the wartime period.

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Minor Detail, by the Palestinian writer Adania Shibli, was originally written in Arabic. The novel is set against the background of the 1948 conflict between the Arab world and Israel, depicting the story of thousands of Palestinians forced to flee their homes.

I came to know this book in a news article last year. Minor Detail was awarded an international literary prize by the German literary organization LitProm, and the award ceremony was due to be held at the Frankfurt book fair last October. However, according to the news source, the author Shibli was "abruptly disinvited 'in a brief email,'" which states the reason for the postponement of her award was the war between Israel and Palestine (here is the link to the article https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/09/palestinian-author-adania-shibli-frankfurt-book-fair). This news made me feel indignant and unsettled, and it forced me to further reflect on the relations among literature, war, and politics. I hope that by choosing this book, we can increase visibility and create more space for communication about what is happening in the world, instead of silencing it.

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Daniel Deconstructed has amazing autism and queer representation. It's also one of the first books I've seen where the summary mentions allistic, which is used for people who are not on the autism spectrum. As an autistic person, in particular one who has grown up with a paucity of accurate representation for autism, I want to make sure that the shelves here show better autism representation than what I grew up with.

It has been since 2018 or so, with Steve Silberman's Neurotribes, as well as advocacy by the Autistic community, that harmful tropes and representation of autistic people has been mitigated. (For example, To Siri With Love, which autistic people hated because of its ableism, a review by Ryan Newman, an autistic person is here https://boren.blog/2017/12/02/an-actually-autistic-review-of-to-siri-with-love/)

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Students with Laurent Mondon and Andrew Pelberg

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Ludington Public Library in Bryn Mawr is a space where the community can go not only to check out and buy books but also to access a wide array of resources, such as tax forms, free internet use, kits for navigating citizenship applications, and space with bathrooms, heating, and air conditioning that are free to use for everyone. Ludington library card holders are also able to attend the various programs they hold, such as children’s story time, ESL classes, game nights, and support groups for caregivers for people with Alzheimer's and dementia. They also have unique and creative activities for patrons to engage with, such as a bracket tournament in which visitors can vote for their favorite books. The librarians at Ludington spoke to us about the importance of the process of weeding in maintaining their collections, so that they can make space for popular new material, as well as remove books with outdated or harmful terminology. They told us that when weeding, they keep the acronym MUSTY in mind: Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, or Your collection has no use for the book. The librarians at Ludington put so much intention into curating the collections in their space so that there’s something available for everyone.

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I was first drawn to applying to Students Shape the Shelves because of their emphasis on representation. As someone with dyspraxia, I had never seen myself represented in a book before. I chose Like a Charm because it includes dyspraxia representation and it had an author with dyspraxia. In both my and McNicoll’s experience, most people haven’t heard of the disorder. I have heard the line from the book “do you mean dyslexia?” many times. Like Ramya, the protagonist of Like a Charm, people’s lack of awareness has sometimes led them to make negative assumptions about me or assume I’m not capable of doing things. I was really happy to see in reviews that people who had never heard of the disorder before were learning about it through this book. I was also happy to see reviews from other dyspraxic people who related to Ramya about details I relate to as well. The author is also autistic and includes autistic representation in the book, which I also always appreciate.

I was hesitant at first to include this book, because it is a middle grade novel. However, it was the only book I could find with dyspraxia representation by a dyspraxic author that I could find, and I felt strongly about including one. I hope this appeals to education majors hoping to get a perspective on Dyspraxic kids or anyone who wants to learn about the disorder through a fun fantasy novel. McNicoll says “ the world needs unapologetically neurodivergent characters” and I absolutely agree. This is the book I wish I had as a kid.

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This work of historical fiction, based on an actual trial in Victorian England, attempts to reckon with British colonialism, in particular the sugar plantations and their legacies of chattel slavery and, after liberation in 1831, systemic racism. All of these are important in a so-called "post" imperial world where questions of the legacies of slavery, in particular the racist systems it has created, have become increasingly important in making the world a more just place. If researched and done well, historical fiction is one such way of showing people what it looked like to deal with racist systems and the epistemologies that they created at the time of fruition.

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Students answered the question "What role do libraries/bookstores play in connecting with or reflecting their communities?"

Find their Friday thoughts!

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The Woods All Black first jumped out to me as a horror fan. The reviews mentioned creepy details like an alcove full of drawings of eyes and bits of human figures, and an elderly woman telling Leslie, the protagonist, that “there are strange currents running under Spar Creek.” These details hint at a larger mystery I’m itching to discover, and the reviews tell me Mandelo delivers. Beyond its horror elements, the book’s representation stuck out to me. Set in Spar Creek, a village in rural Kentucky, in 1929, the book explores issues of self-determination both through the experience of being trans and pregnancy, which I felt was especially important considering the threats of anti-trans and anti-abortion legislation.

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I loved that the Julia de Burgos bookshop intends to represent Latine authors, illustrators, academics and other creatives, which the publishing industry does not. One aspect of books that I and others brought up was representation and the power of seeing oneself in books. For a bookstore to not only stock books that show the community's various backgrounds but also host a book fair at an elementary school that Scholastic did not want to show at due to a lack of profits in the neighborhood evinces the ties between representation and funding. Showing characters with various backgrounds is based on how much money the publishing house will make from it; the same goes for book fairs. For Julia de Burgos to provide an alternative that the school kids and Lisa herself enjoyed shows that there are ways to bypass or alleviate the funding gap.

—Ollie Shane

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My AfroRican State of Soul by Lucas Rivera

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I was drawn to this book immediately upon entering Julia de Burgos because Rivera’s title was being featured in the bookstore’s poetry collection. His book finds harmony between poetry and narrative fiction that speaks on the journey of his life as a BIPOC man. A foreword by Ruha Benjamin offers that his words serve as a “model of intergenerational healing” and that his collection “emerges from a new poetics.” In particular, I was enticed by the description of Rivera’s work where he notes that he “speaks to everyone who has struggled with imposter syndrome, displacement and disempowerment.” The collection is said to resonate with young creatives and OG hip-hop heads as Rivera plunges into a new artistic era. His poems and narrative deeply explore what it means to be of multicultural descent and how that informs personal experiences. As a creative person, I am extremely excited to read this title because it seems like Rivera’s new collection will offer a refreshing breath into the poetry world.

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“American Negra illustrates the diversity of the Black experience in the larger fabric of American Society.” Alford’s book is classified as part memoir, part cultural analysis and her language is defined by her smart and vivid prose. The part of her journey that stood out to me the most is that Alford started at an underfunded public school system to ultimately ended up at Harvard University. Her journey is “a coming-of-age story about what it’s like to live at the intersections of race, culture, gender, and class” while staying true to herself. I was captivated by the experience Alford had to find her authentic voice, in which she traveled across the United States, to Puerto Rico, and to the Dominican Republic in order to gain experience from the broader world. Alford documents her navigation through society’s faulty teachings about identity and I feel as though many people could find a familiar face within the pages of her book.

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Variations on the Body is “a constellation of short stories” that illustrates the “intersecting lives of women on various peripheries of society in and around Bogotá, Colombia.” Ospina’s work captured my attention particularly because of her use of the short story format. In my previous reading habits, I have not seen too many books that serve as a collection of short stories tied together by one thread. The six subtly connected stories are an entrance for the exploration of “the obsessions, desires, and idiosyncrasies of women and girls from different strata of Colombian society.” Her work is a reflection on the body and how bodies simultaneously become a vehicle of connection and alienation under the larger scheme of society. Ospina relies on a variety of bodies—from a little girl to an older woman—to emphasize how the body grows over time.

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What first stood out to me about Undiscovered was its discussions of scientific racism as it relates to archaeology. The book begins with Wiener visiting a collection of artifacts taken by her great-great grandfather, Charles Wiener, who took 4,000 pre-Columbian artifacts to Europe. Of mixed Indigenous and European heritage, she says of the collection “that all these statuettes that look like me were wrenched from my country by a man whose last name I inherited.” As someone hoping to work in the museum industry, I think explorations of its legacy of racism and colonialism are vital for trying to make museums more equitable. This issue is just one that Wiener discusses, others being how colonialism affects love and desire and how to decolonize one’s own mind. Undiscovered is also a work of autofiction, a genre I had never heard of before researching this book. I wanted to include a diversity of types of books and hopefully introduce a new genre to others as well.

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Salt the Water is a lyrical novel that tells the story of Cerulean Gene, a brilliant high school teen who has big dreams to move across the country and live off the grid with their friends after graduating. With the unconditional support of their fiercely loving family, and after carefully saving enough money, Cerulean’s plans for independence are just within reach. However, things take an unexpected turn when a fight with their teacher spirals out of control, which leads Cerulean to make an impulsive decision to drop out of school early. As they confront the consequences of dropping out, things get more complicated when one of their parents has an emergency that puts the family’s financial well-being at risk. Salt the Water is a story about the dreams and self-preservation of queer Black teens who are determined to fight for an expansive world for themselves and those they love. While the oppressive systems they confront threaten to challenge their carefully laid plans, Salt the Water shows us how they may still pursue their dreams- how another world is still possible.

I was very fortunate to have the chance to see a live performance of a portion of Salt the Water at The Philly Pigeon, a local poetry event that is held monthly. Candice Iloh chose several local poets to read as different characters from this book, giving a new layer of life and emotion to an already incredibly powerful story. I was in awe of their writing from the moment I saw their performance, and when I realized that Uncle Bobbie’s had Salt the Water for sale, I knew that we needed it on our shelves.

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The Trinity of Fundamentals by Wisam Rafeedie

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The Trinity of Fundamentals tells the story of a young Palestinian man named Kan’an during the nine years he spent in hiding from the Israeli occupation. The story takes place between 1982 and 1991 amid radical historical upheaval and political turmoil in Palestine, including the First Intifada. Kan’an’s story is marked by his own individual struggles with isolation, upheaval, love, and his steadfast commitment to the liberation of his people. The story is a fictionalized account of the real-life experience of the author Wisam Rafeedie’s struggles through years in hiding. Rafeedie was urged by his fellow political prisoners to write down his incredible life story while he was incarcerated in the Israeli Naqab prison. The story of how Rafeedie’s book came to be known to the world today is just as incredible as the story of the book itself because Rafeedie had to write it in secret, amid constant cell searches by Israeli prison guards. Against all odds, the book was preserved by being smuggled in parts by several different inmates who shared the story across the prison. Despite the book being discovered and ultimately destroyed by the Israeli prison authorities, The Trinity of Fundamentals was miraculously preserved by a Gazan prisoner who secretly managed to copy the book by hand and smuggle it out of the prison. Rafeedie didn’t learn that his story had been preserved until years later.

The fact that The Trinity of Fundamentals was preserved and published despite such immense hurdles is a testament to the power of writing and storytelling in the face of oppression. This incredible story was recently translated and published in English. Amid the ongoing genocide in Palestine, I knew that The Trinity of Fundamentals would be a vital addition to our shelves, as it exemplifies the courage of young people whose stories transcend adversity through unity and collaboration.

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Live from Death Row is a memoir by the Philadelphia activist, journalist, and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Convicted for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer in 1982, Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death- despite widespread speculation around the biased nature of the charges against him. He has maintained his innocence to this day. In his story, he explores different political events, such as his experience working with the Black Panthers, and his perspective on the Philadelphia Police Department’s bombing of the MOVE organization, and the subsequent massacre of 11 Philadelphia residents. Abu-Jamal writes in detail about the abuse he has witnessed and experienced in prison, from racially motivated beatings at the hands of prison guards to solitary confinement, and all aspects of life on the death row bloc. Abu-Jamal also writes about the purported purpose of prisons, and how carcerality erodes the psyche and humanity of inmates. Despite having his sentence commuted to life in prison without parole, to this day Mumia Abu-Jamal is a fixture of the struggle for Black liberation in Philadelphia. His memoir is a vital piece of living history, the history of our greater community. I chose this book as one of my top pics because this is a story that has been far too overlooked, and is just as relevant today as it was the day it was written.

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After a packed week of conversations with librarians and bookstore staff, students answered the question "What role do libraries/bookstores play in connecting with or reflecting their communities?"

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Students Shape the Shelves 2022 student cohort

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Read more from the inaugural group of Students Shape the Shelves in 2022.

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Students Shape the Shelves 2023 Student cohort

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Read more from the 2023 group of Bryn Mawr Students who participated in Students Shape the Shelves.