There is a movement that originated in Denmark, where instead of borrowing a book to read a story, you borrow a person instead. The idea, established in 2000, is to “publish people as open books” so that a person can ask questions of someone’s life and experience and understand issues better. These Human Library projects now exist in over 80 countries.
The concept is simple – that stereotypes can be challenged when hearing stories from real people (eg: homeless men) who serve as “books”. The tagline is “unjudge someone”. You can sit down with “Alcoholic”, “Autism”, “Bipolar” and “Body Mod Extreme” (someone with extreme body modifications), etc – and ask questions, and hear people’s stories.
In this unique library setup, difficult questions are expected, appreciated, and answered. A feminist meets with a Muslim woman in a hijab and asks if she wears it by choice or compulsion. A climate change activist meets with someone who thinks global warming is a hoax. A transgender woman meets a conservative Christian woman who thinks she is living in sin. (CNN, 14 November 2021)
At a time when people across the globe are becoming more divided by social media bubbles, political beliefs and demagogues who cheer on these divisions to gain power, the nonpartisan Human Library plays an important unifying role.
This library that builds bridges was founded by Ronni Abergel, a Danish human rights activist and who lived in the US as an exchange student and has seen the political climate become increasingly partisan. He wondered if a human library could bring people together like a traditional one. Only in this one, stigmatised or unconventional people would be treated like books – readers could loan them out, ask them questions, learn something they didn’t know and challenge their perceptions.
“I had a theory that it could work because the library is one of the few places in our community where everyone is welcome, whether you’re rich or poor, homeless or living in a castle, professor or illiterate,” he says. “It’s truly the most inclusive institution in our time.” (CNN)
The project has lots of practical applications too. For example, a partnership with The University of Glasgow in 2022 encouraged 300 medical students to become readers in The Human Library to learn the skills needed as future doctors.
Dr Lynsay Crawford, University Lecturer said that “we hope to run the program every year so all Glasgow graduates will learn how to “unjudged”. This will benefit not only our students but also the patients and colleagues they will encounter in their future careers. Medical students need to have a wide knowledge base that can be learnt from traditional books, but to be truly effective and compassionate doctors they need to develop more nuanced skills – communication, empathy, listening, reflection – and what better way to achieve that, than through interactions, and connections, with people and their lived experience – the human books.” (Forbes, 9 May 2022)
The Library is also used by corporations (eg: Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, etc) interested in diversity training. A UK packaging company enlisted the Human Library for a conference for its employees in 2019.