English Major Ocie Tucker '26 Spends Summer in the Stacks of a Public Library
Name: Ocie Tucker
Class Year: 2026
Major: Literatures in English
Hometown: White Creek, NY
Internship Organization: John G. McCullough Free Library
Internship Title: Library Intern
Location of Internship: North Bennington, VT
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
This summer, I’ve been working at the McCullough Free Library, a public library situated in the village of North Bennington. The library first opened in 1921, and continues to be a beloved spot for many in the community. I’ve been spending a lot of my time working with the Youth Services Department. The library holds a Summer Reading Program for youth, to encourage reading and to prevent “summer slide” for students. I’ve attended outreach events to promote the program, and I’ve been helping with some of the program events. I have also been involved with the weekly Saturday Storytimes and have led storytime on my own a couple of times! In addition to my work with Youth Services, some of my other tasks include working at the circulation desk, doing new book processing, shelving and shelf reading, sorting incoming and outgoing items for the interlibrary loan courier, and weeding damaged, outdated, and duplicate materials to be deaccessioned from the collection. I’ve also been learning from the library director about her role and experiences, as well as the plans and visions for the library’s future.
Why did you apply for this internship?
My employment at Carpenter-Collier libraries at Bryn Mawr prompted my interest in pursuing further work experiences in a library setting. I was familiar with the McCullough Free Library, as it was the local library I visited throughout my childhood. In addition to fond memories of my early reading adventures there, I was drawn to the opportunity to explore what it’s like to work in a public library rather than an academic library.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
I’ve been enjoying getting to know the folks who visit the library on a regular basis, and it makes me happy to see how the library brings people together within the community. I especially love getting to work with the children. One of my projects was to plan a Saturday Storytime on my own! I chose “Stars and Planets” as the theme, selected an assortment of relevant books to read, found songs to sing, and planned a craft where the children could assemble colorful solar system scenes. One of the challenging parts of the planning process was finding stories and activities that would be both accessible and engaging for preschoolers (the main intended audience) while also interesting for older children who might also be at the storytime. I was a little nervous to lead storytime on my own, but it went well! In an upcoming weekend, I’ll also be leading a dance-themed storytime I’ve planned!
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at your internship?
When learning about weeding and deaccession, I felt a bit conflicted at the idea of letting go of items. Deaccession is the removal and deletion of books (or other items) from the collection, and weeding is the process of checking for items to be deaccessioned. A library, especially a smaller-sized public library, has a limited capacity for physical materials, so space is valuable. There must be space in order to bring in new books, stay up-to-date, and continue to adapt to the current interests and needs of the community. One of the ways of creating space is weeding out items that are damaged, outdated, or that have not been checked out in a certain number of years. The notion of removing certain items was a bit off-putting at first, but as I learned more about the reasoning behind it, and the different considerations taken, it made more sense. For example, the items deaccessioned are not rare (and usually are available from another library through Interlibrary Loan). I also found it useful to separate my personal feelings about items from the broader situation. (There’s not much point in keeping a badly scratched DVD that has not been checked out in five years, even if I enjoyed that movie as a child.) One of my main projects has been weeding the audiobooks on CD, and deaccessioning any with scratches or other damage that makes them unplayable. Since most of our patrons use the online audiobook streaming service provided by the library, the audiobooks on disc are rarely borrowed anymore, and are essentially taking up space that can be put to more relevant use. I’ve learned to think of the library as representative of both the past and the present. It’s a living space, and change is part of what will help it continue to flourish.
Through the Career and Civic Engagement Center Beyond Bryn Mawr Summer Internship Program, Bryn Mawr students pursue opportunities in fields such as nonprofits, government and law, health care, research, sciences, business, and the arts. Thanks to the generosity of our alumnae/i and donors, over 150 students across all academic departments are funded to pursue unpaid internships or research experiences in the U.S. and abroad each year.