{"id":62,"date":"2026-07-28T02:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T02:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/chicanasteamlibrarian\/?p=62"},"modified":"2026-07-28T03:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T03:12:48","slug":"the-power-of-stories-and-human-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/chicanasteamlibrarian\/2026\/07\/28\/the-power-of-stories-and-human-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Stories and Human Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Power of Stories and Human Libraries<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I am an avid movie and TV series watcher. I love watching Sci-Fi and Rom-Coms. However, I have been keenly aware for a long time now that I very rarely see myself represented in any of the movies or visual media available on most major streaming platforms and within my favorite moving media genres. What is available is often a feeble attempt at inclusion and representation. I am often left with few options when it comes to true representation on screen and a very obvious invisibility of my own race and culture in mainstream movies and media. In the news, my culture is also not always represented positively, and I have had to reach out to grassroots news organizations and trusted family and friends for true facts and events of recent policies and injustices affecting my community. I think that this invisibility and exclusion have caused many of the injustices that are happening in our nation today because the people that make up my community have been excluded and therefore dehumanized. This has made it easy for some to mistreat the many in these communities unjustly. I cannot help but reflect that it is because we have not been given the opportunity to be humanized positively in mainstream media. This is why accurate and respectful representation matters because it creates knowledge, understanding, and empathy. What is happening in our nation by violently apprehending, unaliving, and incarcerating undocumented and documented persons could have been avoided by respectfully humanizing each of these individuals through positive representation on screen, in print, and in the news.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Memo<\/a>
Memo Torres\u2019s grassroots reporting on ICE incidents in Los Angeles. Memo often begins his reports by informing his audience how many days the ICE siege has been ongoing in Los Angeles. L.A. Taco started as food journalism and L.A. culture and neighborhood community issues. In June of 2025, L.A. Taco shifted much of its reporting to real-time documentation of ICE activity in Southern California, and Memo Torres launched his Daily Memo. Click on the image to visit the Instagram post (L.A. Taco, 2026, June 8).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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This is why the concept that resonated with me quite deeply in this module is the Human Libraries. It is a concept I was unfamiliar with in a library setting but altogether very familiar with within my own culture. There is a saying in indigenous cultures that \u201cwhen an elder dies, a library burns\u201d (Connor, 2018; Hamp\u00e2t\u00e9 B\u00e2, 1960). Hamp\u00e2t\u00e9 B\u00e2, a Malian scholar and oral historian, reminded us in his speech, <\/span>The Living Tradition,<\/span><\/i> that each person carries within them invaluable knowledge, stories, and experiences that are essential to be shared and preserved. By doing so, we create a living library for students to learn wisdom directly from respected community elders. Furthermore, the Human Library Impact Study found that when readers participated in a Human Library event, the impacts were significant in helping the readers begin to reflect on their own biases \u201cand resulted in an increased sensitivity towards diversity (Skidmore, 2021). I also see the concept of Human Libraries as essential in reclaiming indigenous stories that have been lost through colonization so that the survivors of colonization can reclaim their identities and ancestral heritage through stories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mathew<\/a>
Mathew Torres explains that the story of Popocateptl and Iztacihuatl is a lot like the Odyssey except that the journey part of the story was lost [through colonization]. He will attempt to research the lost elements of Popocateptl\u2019s journey in order to share and publish it. Click on the image to visit the Instagram Post (Torres, 2026, July 16).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How can Human Libraries be incorporated in an elementary and middle school setting? Dr. Stephens writes about a 90-minute workshop he attended presented by Jason Evans Groth, Digital Media Librarian at NCSU Libraries. Dr. Stephens explains that the session was aimed at better understanding community needs through narrative inquiry and adapting story-based programming and services to accommodate children with neurodiverse abilities. Dr. Stephens states that Evans Groth explained that with our smartphones and tablets, we can create a temporary recording studio. With tablets and smartphones, librarians can record patrons’ personal stories that can be catalogued and checked out by patrons. Dr. Stephens delivers a powerful message in his writing in which he states his most important takeaway from this workshop:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStory-based experiences of all kinds can increase listeners\u2019 understanding of diverse groups, demonstrate the value of everyone\u2019s experience, and remind listeners of their shared humanity\u201d\u00a0 (Stephens, n.d.).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the use of smartphones, Chromebooks, and tablets, I plan to create Human Library opportunities through Narrative Inquiries appropriate for children of Elementary and Middle school ages. Through their own words, students can begin to build knowledge and empathy within their school community that will hopefully humanize their experiences among their peers and help create a more inclusive human experience for young students. One way I plan to use Narrative Inquiry to build a Human Library is by reading the book <\/span>Yefferson, Actually <\/span><\/i>by authors Trejo and Martin-Row and asking students how they have felt when people have said their name incorrectly. Students will be allowed to record a video or their voice with parent permission, or to write about their experiences. These stories will be recorded and saved via Google Slides or Canva Presentations and accessible to other students in each participating classroom. The immeasurable possibilities for creating Human Library opportunities for school-aged children are promising.<\/span><\/p>\n