{"id":59,"date":"2026-07-24T08:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/?p=59"},"modified":"2026-07-24T08:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:07:10","slug":"the-power-of-stories-reflection-blog-human-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/2026\/07\/24\/the-power-of-stories-reflection-blog-human-library\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Stories Reflection Blog: Human Library"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Human
The Human Library. Photo by Ronni Abergel on Tripadvisor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a self-proclaimed bookworm, this is stating the obvious, but I love stories. In a previous blog post, Hyperlinked Communities Reflection Blog: Libraries for All<\/a>, I discussed the healing power of books. From a reader\u2019s perspective, stories allow one to put themselves in another person\u2019s shoes and to grow empathy and understanding for other people. This week\u2019s course module about the power of stories also highlights how empowering it is from the storyteller\u2019s perspective to be able to share their own story and connect with others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The human library takes storytelling to another level, connecting community members through stories. Originating in Denmark in 2000, human libraries consist of volunteers called human books (Wentz, 2013). Human libraries have expanded internationally, with the first event held in the United States by the Bainbridge Public Library and Santa Monica Public Library in 2008. Community members can meet with these human books and have one-on-one conversations, aligning with the mission of libraries to provide safe learning environments to share information and knowledge. Volunteers bring their unique personal experience and often have been stereotyped in some way. These conversations can pave the way for deeper understanding and connection, and like their motto provide opportunities to \u201cunjudge\u201d someone and challenge prejudices (Wentz, 2013).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I really enjoyed learning about the human library from this week\u2019s readings and it got me thinking about the many different formats of storytelling. Besides the many books on library shelves, how can libraries tell the stories of their community members? I envision community whiteboards, video recordings, photographs, and artwork. What other types of library events and programming can draw people together and foster community? In what ways can libraries help their community keep, make, and share stories? In my library practice, I hope to carry forward this spirit of storytelling so that my community members feel heard and that their stories help create a diverse and inclusive library.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/span><\/p>\n

Ronni Abergel [@RonniAbergel]. (2020, July). <\/span>The Human Library, Copenhagen<\/span><\/i> [Photograph]. Tripadvisor. <\/span>https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Attraction_Review-g189541-d21071059-Reviews-The_Human_Library-Copenhagen_Zealand.html#\/media\/21071059\/?type=ALL_INCLUDING_RESTRICTED&albumid=-160&category=-160<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

As a self-proclaimed bookworm, this is stating the obvious, but I love stories. In a previous blog post, Hyperlinked Communities Reflection Blog: Libraries for All, I discussed the healing power of books. From a reader\u2019s perspective, stories allow one to put themselves in another person\u2019s shoes and to grow empathy and understanding for other people. … Continue reading The Power of Stories Reflection Blog: Human Library<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":824,"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-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/824"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}