Objective or Topic:

My objective is to connect the Placer community closely, not just by sharing indirect stories of someone’s experience through a work of art, but through a personal story that will be facilitated by the Human Library as a system that has been shown to work.

Executive Summary:

Even though technology makes us able to connect with anyone communities are become more isolated. This program will capture the unique experiences present in the world, particularly those in the Placer community with underprivileged stories to tell. The solution to this isolation is introducing the Human Library to share these stories, as it draws in not only readers but speakers that can provide one on one talks with those who want to hear a personalized story. This program actively engages users giving them a chance to have a face to face interaction with someone they might have never talked to otherwise. This can not only remove social stigma as ‘readers’ who listen to the story can directly ask questions that humanize the speaker further, but also lead to the possibility of friendships forming. The tales here should increase understanding and acceptance in the community for marginalized groups as exposure will normalize their existence.

Introduction:

During Covid-19 pandemic individuals grew more distant as lock down procedures restricted the ability for people to meet their friends or anyone really. In following this health regulations this created a separation as a PBS article stated in January of 2023, “surveys reveal that around 60 percent of people in the U.S. right now report feeling lonely on a pretty regular basis” (PBS). This meant individuals focused on their own needs while losing the sense of connection with their community and sub-communities present in their area. It harms the long term mental health of those experiencing loneliness making it harder to relate to others or feel happy with themselves since humans are for the most part social animals. This lonely fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic has been called the loneliness epidemic, which needs a cure. Human Libraries though can remedy this issue as they will reconnect a splintered community experience a plethora of distressing issues.

Origins:

Human Libraries are a concept introduced in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000 as a way to drive personal interaction. They work similar to a normal library with check outs, library cards, but instead volunteers are the “books” that patrons can learn from. To establish a Human Library it “requires the creation of a catalog with short descriptions of each of the books” (Wentz, 2013) that guests can reference as the kinds of people they can talk to comfortably. This is run by the librarians which, “facilitates the organization and the operation of the human library” (Wentz, 2013). This basic structure facilitates individuals who are curious about particular communities or those just exploring the library to interact with people they wouldn’t otherwise. As the librarian Susan Lauricella said, “You couldn’t walk up to a stranger on the street, someone who was different than you, and just ask them something, but here you can,” (Ray, 2019). This changes that dynamic, offering a safe space to learn something directly without the alienating force of being through a computer screen while having instant feedback that books can’t provide. The interactive element can bridge divides between a marginalized community and the community at large without there being a major risk to either side in doing so. The importance of this is that it reduces loneliness while also preventing the minority community from being excluded from the public sphere, even if that is for the temporary time someone is volunteering because it can make an isolated individual grow ready to meet new people of diverse backgrounds.

Self Regulated:

By allowing the community to become its own story tellers it creates a direct, comfortable bond between people, which is needed to bridge certain gaps. That is because sometimes only when exposed to a certain group can individuals grow familiar and accept those that are different. This extends in many different ways from racial prejudices to sexuality and gender based stigmas as well as into different disabilities. The community can create a positive feedback loop as members of the community can volunteer or certain types of speakers can be requested to attend the Human Library by members of the community directly. For examples as Erin Wentz wrote, “Because the books and the readers come from the community, local context necessarily influences the program. Through the program, the public library shares the community with itself, providing a venue for individuals to articulate their experiences and to communicate with one another” (2013). This way different parts of the community can understand the needs of other parts and this will not only stop judgement as the original mission statement was trying to achieve. This can can lead to members in the community going out of their way to help other members in need after accepting them as part of Placer as a whole.

Self-Help:

The program will also assist community members help themselves as they can learn about or know how to navigate a part of their life they didn’t understand before. For example if someone was recently disabled in a particular way, or wants to discover something about themself and how to handle that aspect in the community someone with that experience can share it. An example would be if a transgender individual offered advice how to get medicine within the county, which someone online couldn’t answer properly since they don’t have that direct local knowledge. This can vastly improve the quality of someone’s life while also forming a close connection which can also decrease the loneliness epidemic one person at a time. These vulnerable people seeking advice are another important consideration to make aside from the benefits of just ending prejudice as finding someone else who can be a form of a guiding light can save those lost in the dark.

Stories of Success

The program has been shown to work as Wentz article reported Human Libraries “in the United States were held in 2008 by the Bainbridge Public Library in Bainbridge Island, Washington, and the Santa Monica, Public Library” (2013). This shows that the system works in America and beyond that the article went on to report, “In Lismore, Australia, public demand led the city to establish a regular, monthly human-library program” (2013). This shows it isn’t just a successful program patrons enjoy, but one they actively want to bring back on a regular basis. That highlights the importance of story telling and the connections formed by that process. As long as both individuals are respectful this can be a healthy way to start conversations in the community to drive towards a better tomorrow.

The success of this Human Library as a concept was so fruitful that there has even been a website established offering guidance, connection, and their claims of success. They have ways to connect the program to local groups offering a guidebook with regulations such as volunteer ‘books’ should not be paid because, “We do not believe readers will have the same confidence in the library if books were paid to be there” (Human Library). This can save the library on its budget, while also establishing a better since of trust, as it said no one will only be there for a paycheck which can make people suspicious of the program. Of course this can make it difficult for certain groups to attend if they are busy working for money they might need, but it will encourage those with altruistic intentions to attend from both sides without a monetary incentive. To easily establish a program like this the regulations on the website should be referenced to improve the success rate as it has over twenty three years of experience.

Negative Outcomes:

There are potential risks with this program as there are with any program. The most obvious is the risk to the attending guests. If a group is a targeted minority there would have to be strict rules to avoid hostility or harassment of any kind even if that is verbal. In addition privacy will still be important, but safety comes first. Such a program should likely take place in a wide open area, but with safe between story tellers to provide the one asking questions to be able to speak freely. This should be secluded from the rest of the library though that way the two individuals feel as if no casual observer is passing judgement it is only other people directly interested in the topic at hand.

Aside from that there is the time, space, and manpower required to run such a program, but if it is successful it will be worth it in the end. Internet forums have a similar system of asking someone who is part of a field any questions. These are rather popular in concept, but it’s difficult to connect to this impersonal user from beyond a screen for many people. As long as both ‘book’ and patron are comfortable this should facilitate a similar environment and it can even lead to growth if the system gets popular as multiple people could attend to listen to one speaker at a time. This is likely easier done with friends, but it will still help tend to more people’s needs as others might ask a question they might not have even thought of while saving time which is the other biggest cost involved which the guests must offer up.

Conclusion:

There are many obvious benefits to implementing this program the clearest of which is fighting the loneliness that is becoming more common in our digital age. Ending stigma surrounding marginalized groups or offering guidance to those who need it is another wonderful reason to host such meetings. By making members of the community the story tellers it will help drive new connections that others want to create because it is self-regulated. It does not matter how long the meetings are or which particular group is getting hosted as time can be extended or the groups can be rotated. The point is to not give up an opportunity that has seen success for over twenty three years as the community can lead these gatherings.

References:

Bezzubets, K. (2021) A group of people standing around a table. [photo]. https://unsplash.com/photos/a-group-of-people-standing-around-a-table-rl2tCHSICmw

Human Library. (n.d.) The human library book faq. https://humanlibrary.org/about/

PBS. (2023, January 7). Why Americans are lonelier and its effects on our health. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-americans-are-lonelier-and-its-effects-on-our-health

Evans, O. (2024) Screenshot of Human Library. https://humanlibrary.org/about/

Ray, M. (2019, April 12). Courageous conversations at the human library. Next Avenue. https://www.nextavenue.org/courageous-conversations-human-library/

Wentz, E. (2013, April 26). The human library: Sharing the community with itself. Public Libraries Online. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/04/human_librar/