The Human Library Project is a global movement with a simple slogan: “unjudge someone.” Headquartered in Denmark, this international nonprofit supports virtual and in-person events where “readers can borrow human beings serving as open books and have conversations they would not normally have access to,” the Human Library website (www.humanlibrary.org) describes. “Every human book from our bookshelf represents a group in our society that is often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination because of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin, etc.”
“Menneskebiblioteket” as it is called in Danish, began in 2000. “The original event was open eight hours a day for four days straight, and featured over 50 different titles,” the website continues.
Nearly three years ago, Carbondale Age-Friendly Community Initiative (now Age-Friendly Carbondale) planted the seed with Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD) to bring the Human Library Project to the Valley.
According to Frank Sgambati, an active member of Age-Friendly Carbondale, the intent is to address our country’s deepening divisions through non-judgemental listening. “I think all of us feel on some level like, wow, what’s happening?” He said, “We want to make sure we continue to have an open society, talking to one another, learning from one another, I kind of feel like that’s slipping away.”
The first event in what GCPLD hopes will become a series will be hosted at the Carbondale Library in partnership with Tom Karrel Coaching, At Our Honest and the Aspen Institute. Six “books” have been trained by the Human Library Project, representing a span of life experiences often stigmatized: such as having had an addiction, been incarcerated, suffered a spinal cord injury, had an abortion, being transgender or undocumented. The idea is to reveal a person, with all of their complexities, beneath each label.
“We’re not leaving any questions off the table,” said Alex Garcia-Bernal, GCPLD education and events manager. There will, however, be ground rules to assure respectful conversation. For example, if a person is uncomfortable with a question, they may respond, “I haven’t quite published that yet.” One rule for the participating “books” is to no longer be in crisis, to be able to talk openly about their experiences.
Each attendee during the event will have the opportunity to speak with three “books” in small groups for about 30 minutes each, with facilitation by Tom Karrel, creator of the The Lost Art of Random Conversations series.
Neither can participants preselect a book, Sgambati informed. “We’re there to learn and listen, not judge.”
In terms of future events, potentially more controversial topics will be considered, but also lighter topics with broad appeal, like conversing with a beekeeper. Carbondale was chosen to host the first event because of the town’s generally open-minded disposition.
If all goes well, the library will try to host three to four of these events per year, receiving suggestions for new topics to explore. “It could be uncomfortable for some people,” Sgambati admitted, but the idea is to bring an open mind and open heart and “just listen.”
The event takes place on Jan. 28 from 10am to 1pm. It is free, but limited to 30 participants. There will be interpretation available and a standby list will be kept in case cancellations free up spots. Sign up early at www.bit.ly/human-library-carbondale