{"id":73,"date":"2026-07-25T19:38:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T19:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/?p=73"},"modified":"2026-07-25T19:38:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T19:38:43","slug":"reflection-blog-the-power-of-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/2026\/07\/25\/reflection-blog-the-power-of-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection Blog: The Power of Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

While working through the materials for this module, two organizations stood out to me\u00a0the most, The Human Library and StoryCorps.\u00a0Both organizations focus on speaking directly to people and encouraging them to share their stories to build\u00a0connections and uplift voices that may otherwise go unheard.\u00a0It can be easy\u00a0to\u00a0stay\u00a0engulfed in our own little world,\u00a0speaking to the same people\u00a0every day, moving within our own social circle, and listening to similar viewpoints.\u00a0There are\u00a0not many\u00a0opportunities to speak with\u00a0someone you would not normally interact with, which is why I was excited to read about these two organizations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Human Library features “human books,” which are people that volunteer to share their unique stories and perspectives with “readers,” opening themselves up to\u00a0questions and\u00a0sharing their experiences\u00a0(Wentz, 2013).\u00a0While this program originated in Denmark, it has expanded to several other countries and\u00a0now even has an online video platform available (Human Library, n.d.;\u00a0Wentz, 2013).\u00a0In a recent study,\u00a0Aarne-Skidmore\u00a0(2021)\u00a0found\u00a0there is an overall positive impact from these programs, and many readers reported they began to reflect on their own biases and behaviors\u00a0after attending a program.\u00a0I believe this\u00a0shows how important it is to listen to\u00a0other people’s stories.\u00a0By\u00a0taking the time to have these open conversations, we can become more empathetic and reevaluate our own\u00a0perceptions\u00a0and biases.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

StoryCorps is another organization that encourages people to share their stories. One difference is that\u00a0instead of having “human books” available\u00a0for\u00a0checkout,\u00a0stories are recorded as an interview between an individual and a loved one (Eberhart, 2018).\u00a0Recordings are\u00a0then posted online, archived in the Library of Congress, and\u00a0played on\u00a0NPR’s “Morning Edition,” making these stories\u00a0widely available\u00a0(Eberhart, 2018).\u00a0While The Human Library makes it possible to have a one-on-one conversation with a new person, I appreciate that StoryCorps\u00a0makes\u00a0it easy for more people to share their stories.\u00a0With their\u00a0DIY tools and StoryCorps App, people can record a conversation and share it at any time (StoryCorps, n.d.-b).\u00a0Additionally, if someone does want to meet someone new, StoryCorps has a new program called “Connect250” that matches\u00a0people together to have a conversation and share their experiences as part of a time capsule for America’s 250<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0anniversary\u00a0(StoryCorps, n.d.-a).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both organizations make it possible for people to share their stories and build connections, which can help broaden viewpoints and lead to more empathetic communities. Within a library setting, I can see both models being used as a way to encourage communication between the many different people that come into the library. Not only can these types of programs help facilitate conversations between patrons, but they can also help librarians build better relationships with people they interact with every day. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Quote

Quote from Impact page on StoryCorps website. https:\/\/storycorps.org\/impact\/<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Arne-Skidmore, E. (2021, April 8).\u00a0<\/span>New study on the impact of the human library<\/span><\/i>. Human Library.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/humanlibrary.org\/new-study-on-the-impact-of-the-human-library\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eberhart, G. M. (2018, February 10).\u00a0<\/span>Sharing people’s\u00a0stories<\/span><\/i>. American Libraries Magazine.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/americanlibrariesmagazine.org\/blogs\/the-scoop\/sharing-peoples-stories\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Human Library. (n.d.).\u00a0<\/span>Human library online<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/online.humanlibrary.org\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

StoryCorps. (n.d.-a).\u00a0<\/span>Connect250.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>https:\/\/www.connect250.org\/sign-up?__hstc=150434921.7b3a2bbed62d195e50633ff6f8e26f9b.1784993139272.1785004192245.1785007074545.4&__hssc=150434921.2.1785007074545&__hsfp=b1414f6f7de2fc6a17291cddb7ba1f9a&_gl=1*uyrn27*_gcl_au*NjE1NDczOTc3LjE3ODQ5OTMxMzQuLS4tLjE3ODQ5OTMzNTcuMTkxNTM4MjQ0LjE3ODQ5OTMxMzcuMTc4NTAwNzE5NQ..*_ga*MTQ5MTYzMjc1MC4xNzg0OTkzMTM3*_ga_45TDF8NXYH*czE3ODUwMDcwNzIkbzQkZzEkdDE3ODUwMDcxOTYkajU4JGwwJGgw*_ga_8K1E6B6K7W*czE3ODUwMDcwNzIkbzQkZzEkdDE3ODUwMDcxOTUkajYwJGwwJGgw<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

StoryCorps. (n.d.-b).\u00a0<\/span>Participate<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/storycorps.org\/participate\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wentz, E. (2013, April 26).\u00a0<\/span>The human library: Sharing the community with itself<\/span><\/i>. Public Libraries Online.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/publiclibrariesonline.org\/2013\/04\/human_librar\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While working through the materials for this module, two organizations stood out to me\u00a0the most, The Human Library and StoryCorps.\u00a0Both organizations focus on speaking directly to people and encouraging them to share their stories to build\u00a0connections and uplift voices that may otherwise go unheard.\u00a0It can be easy\u00a0to\u00a0stay\u00a0engulfed in our own little world,\u00a0speaking to the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":826,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions\/76"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}