Last spring, it was big news — the UK’s first Living Library had opened up in a North London shop, and people were borrowing. Borrowing what — ? Other people.
Gay Man, who was labeled in the catalog as “Well Dressed” and “Probably Has Sexually Transmitted Diseases” was “shelved” along side of Male Nanny, who was cataloged as the British-ly ambiguous word “Twee” and the more sinister “Child Molester.” Police Officer was succintly cataloged as “Corrupt.” Each of the cataloging labels that are people’s go-to prejudices was hung out there, and each of the people who was labeled was prepared to spend a half hour out on “loan,” telling people about their lives.
Perhaps my favorite book from the Living Library project in Bournemouth in December was Muslim, which was perhaps cataloged as “Bombs” and “Insurgents” and “Bearded,” but which had much more crucial information about how to keep on a hijab, and the five-times-a-day prayer ritual. Female Minister brings with it a store of jokes that may surprise some readers. There are plenty of books in the history section, with WWII probably being a strong favorite.
The whole idea of Living Libraries stemmed from a violent incident in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the interracial immigration struggles of that country. Anxious to be able to defuse fear and to allow people to know one another, the affected friends of the victim formed a group called Stop the Violence. They lectured and talked and kept multicultural dialogue going… and then they were given an opportunity to do more.
The idea for the Living Library came about in 2000 when the organizer of the Roskilde Festival, one of Europe’s largest summer pop and rock concerts, asked Abergel’s group to come up with an activity that could be held during his event. Face-to-face dialogue seemed to be the key to understanding, so the idea was to have people hear the life stories of others they might have formerly harbored preconceptions about. The motto: Don’t judge a book by its cover. “We want to disarm people, we want to help fight prejudices,” Abergel says. “When they talk to one another, they re-think their own positions.”
If you hadn’t heard of these fabulous opportunities to set aside prejudice and learn about people, you’ll be glad to know of the upcoming Living Library session in the Atlanta Fulton Public Library and the UC San Diego library. And if you’re super lucky and live in Australia, there’s a permanent Living Library!
I hope to someday participate in one of these Living Library things… because people make a great story. And it’s best not to judge a book by its cover.
Tis’ the season for best buddies books coming out. First Liz, and now Sara. Operation YES is out, I’m dying to have a copy. Since it’s not yet on sale in the UK (sigh. SIGH!!) I’m assuaging my need by checking out the Operation Yes website. Congratulations, Sara! It looks wonderful!
Wow! It really would have to depend upon people being genuinely willing to ask questions and listen to answers and thoughts. I would be bracing myself for invective. The "Books" are brave.
–Storyteller (shelved under Scarf-Wearing and Effervescent; see also Jazz Hands)
Fascinating and intriguing. First I've heard of it.
They were talking about doing something like this in our library system at some point. This makes me wonder what happened to that idea.
A catalogers nightmare!!LOL
What an intriguing concept.