May 18, 2009

The Olympia Living Library: Don’t judge a book by its cover

Are you ready to face your prejudices and stereotypical judgments and meet with your stereotype in person in a safe and supportive setting?

The Olympia Timberland Library will present a truly special collection, the Olympia Living Library, on Saturday, May 30 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the library’s community meeting room. Become a Living Library Reader: borrow a human book with a title such as “Immigrant Stories” or “Transgender Stories” and engage in a 30-minute face-to-face conversation with a person from the community that you might not otherwise meet.

“I’ve been fascinated with this idea ever since I read about the program occurring in a library in Scandinavia a few years ago,” said Sara Peté, Adult Services Librarian at the Olympia Timberland Library. “We like to think of the public library as our community’s living room. This program provides a great opportunity for community building and promoting understanding between members of the library’s diverse clientele,” said Peté.

Living books confirmed to date are “Immigrant Stories,” “Transgender Stories” and “Native American Stories,” with two or more books in each “genre.” “Disability Stories” and “Muslim Stories” are also likely to be available. If the event is a success, the library will likely build on and continue the program.

How the Living Library works

When readers arrive they will register for their Living Library card with the Living Library librarians. At that time readers will learn the rules of the program and take a look at the Living Library catalog, which will feature the available living books and a brief description. Participants will also be given a list of questions and discussion starters to help break the ice and facilitate a meaningful dialogue.

The reader chooses a book for a 30 minute conversation at one of the reserved tables in the library. Readers then bring their books back to the meeting room. They may ask the librarian for a maximum of 30 more minutes with their book or check out another. Among the rules, of course, is that the human books must be returned in the same condition in which they were checked out. Like all library materials, they must be treated with respect.

A display of materials in various formats about different cultures, differently-abled people and related topics will also be on hand for browsing by attendees.

Background

Begun in Denmark by an anti-violence youth group, the Living Library has been popular in Europe and Australia for several years. Recently there have been a number of Living Library events in the U.S., including one at the Kitsap Regional Library on Bainbridge Island a few months ago. The Living Library Web site is http://living-library.org.

The Olympia library received input from various community members and professionals with experience working with diversity issues. “This unique and ground-breaking program highlights the library's important role in the community to library users and non-users alike,” said Peté.

The Olympia Living Library is sponsored by the Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library. The library is located at 313 8th Avenue SE, Olympia. For more information, call the library at (360) 352-0595.

Timberland Regional Library provides for the information, reading and lifelong learning needs of the Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston county public at 27 community public libraries and 7 library service partner locations. The library system is funded mainly by local property taxes. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library’s program may contact the library one week in advance.

Revised 05/18/09