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  

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. 

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

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/)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Find their Friday thoughts!

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.

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.

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