Several years ago, I happened upon a short social media clip of individuals set up outside in New York at café tables with the purpose of letting others sit and listen to their story. The clip left a lasting impression, and I’ve mentioned it in conversation many times over the years. However, until this week’s reading, I was never able to remember this project’s name. Of course, it would be titled The Human Library! Wentz describes the concept well, “Human libraries function similarly to other libraries except that in a human library, people – rather than books – are available for checkout. Those who volunteer to be ‘human books’ are ‘people with a particular personal experience or perspective on life” (2013).

I will admit that, as much as I am in love with this concept, the introverted part of me is incredibly intimidated by the thought of sitting down with a stranger one-on-one and coming up with questions on the spot. Perhaps including the opportunity to use prewritten question suggestions or the option to interact with the “human book” in small groups would help ease my apprehensions about participating, and likely, I am not the only one who might need these small adjustments.

My intrigue with this concept inspires me to think about how something similar could take place in my academic library. My university is on the smaller side, and one of its core values and missions is to foster an environment of belonging and connectedness. Implementing a human library concept in my library by focusing on different social connection themes could be a unique opportunity to foster my school’s mission. For example, offering a human library towards the beginning of a semester with the theme of upperclassman/freshman pairings might facilitate friendships or a mentorship relationship. Another thought might be to have a human library night, matching a professor and student to create connected learning. Other themed pairings could be experience-based, such as study abroad, dorm life, or sports-related. “The enthusiastic response most events have received indicates that the human library fulfills an unmet need. Making these personal connections brings the community together” (Wentz, 2013).  The outcome doesn’t necessarily have to lead to a continued friendship, but I do think it would offer new perspectives and the opportunity to have another familiar face on campus, which can really make such a big difference for students who might not yet feel a sense of community connection.

References:

Fisher, C. (n.d.). Human Library Project [Image]. https://www.pawlingfreelibrary.org/human-library-project/

Hall-Geisler, K. (2023). Check Out the Human Library, Where the Books Are People [Image]. HowStuffWorks. https://people.howstuffworks.com/human-library.htm

Wentz, E. (2013). The human library: Sharing the community with itself. Public Library Association. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/04/human_librar/