'Unjudge someone' with the Human Library experience
As the song goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Yet, we all make snap judgments based on first impressions and appearances. Our biases and assumptions kick in as we encounter people at work, at school and on the street, triggering emotions and expectations that influence how we interact with each other.
With a book, we can open the cover to see what’s truly on the page, but it’s not as easy to get to the core of a stranger’s experience. The Human Library creates a safe space for attendees to go beyond another person’s “cover” and start to understand their perspective.
Altrusa International of Gainesville and the Alachua County Library District invite you to become a patron of the Human Library at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Cone Park Branch, 2801 E. University Ave. in Gainesville. The event is free and open to all; no registration is required.
The Human Library will be stocked with people from diverse walks of life – Human Books. The Human Library operates exactly like a normal library – Readers “borrow” a Book for a set time to hear the Book’s story. Books not only speak but can reply to readers’ questions and can ask questions themselves.
Human Books are volunteers who have personally experienced prejudice or stereotyping related to addiction, disabilities, ethnicity, family relations, gender, health, lifestyle, mental health, occupation, religion/ideology, sexual orientation, social status or victim.
Gainesville’s Human Book volunteers will be coached by Human Library trainers and local storytellers and accompanied by librarians throughout the event. The Human Books will be positioned among the library branch’s stacks and readers will circulate between them, with time to mingle and reflect after the checkout period.
The Human Library concept started in Denmark in 2000 and spread to more than 70 countries. The organization strives to challenge prejudice and prevent conflicts by building empathy through dialogue. The Human Library implores us to “unjudge someone.”
We believe that sharing personal stories with each other is often the best way to encourage understanding, reduce prejudice and celebrate diversity within our communities. Through conversation and listening, we can bridge the gaps between us based on appearance or lifestyle and establish new foundations of trust and respect for one another. We hope readers will leave the Human Library aware that we all are much more alike than different.
If you are curious to see what Human Books are in our catalog, join us on May 15 for the Human Library. Learn more about the event at www.aclib.us/HumanLibrary.
Celia Burger is the chair of Human Library Subcommittee for Altrusa International of Gainesville, a local club of an international nonprofit organization making our communities better through leadership, partnership and service. The club undertakes service, literacy, fundraising and international projects. Joyce West is the public services division director of the Alachua County Library District, the sole provider of public library services to approximately 271,000 citizens in urban and rural communities throughout Alachua County. The Library District’s mission is to build a better community by creating opportunities to participate, connect and discover.
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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Celia Burger and Joyce West: Human Library helps bridge divisions
