This past week the radio announcer was talking about The Human Library Project. Founded in Denmark by two brothers and some colleagues, “Menneskebiblioteket” as it is called in Danish, is a place where a “reader” can check out a “human” book. During a certain amount of time, one person, “the reader” listens to the story of another, “the book”. Generally it is a story with which the reader is unfamiliar and perhaps has pre-conceived or pre-judged ideas. The idea of the program is that when we hear someone’s story we are more likely to reassess our stereotype of people and “unjudge” them.

The Human Library® is, in the true sense of the word, a library of people. We host events where readers can borrow human beings serving as open books and have conversations they would not normally have access to. Every human book from our bookshelf, represent 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. (From the Human Library website: https://humanlibrary.org/about/)

What is your story? Where would your book be on the Dewey Decimal shelf of life?

What a concept: spending time with a person to listen to their story in a safe setting. In some ways it is sad that we have to have an organized arrangement to learn to listen to people who might have a different point of view or lifestyle than ourselves. Reminds me of the person for hire who will walk with you and consequently listen to you. The paid walker is what we would call a really good friend.

Our recently deceased friend was a great reader- not so much of books but of people. As many said, “he never knew a stranger.” He was genuinely interested in listening to others and in hearing their stories. As we have been thinking about him and his interests, we realized his hobby was people: getting to know them, introducing different people who might not normally intersect and providing such warm hospitality that being in his presence made one feel safe and loved.

To be a good reader of books, one has to actually read books. Most people don’t just dive into English literature when they start to read. It is a process starting with easy book and gradually tackling the tougher ones like heavy literature or scientific tomes. Either way, it takes practice and in doing so, one becomes a good reader.

Similarly, it takes practice to become a good human “reader”. Sometimes it is trial and error to know the right questions to ask another in order to draw out their story. We might experience an awkwardness in our attempts to either tell our story or listen to another’s. But, practice we must with listening and telling, because each one of us has a story. Some stories might be quite dramatic while others more predictable. Some might seem like fantasy or technical exposes. Regardless of how they may be written, each of us has our own story to tell and can only be told in our own way.

What about you? Have you ever had a chance to “read” someone? To listen to their story? How did that make you feel? Connected to that person? Entrusted with their personal story? Change the way you thought of them? Have you ever been the book- shared your story with others? How did that make you feel? Vulnerable? Scared? Connected?

Sometimes I think that the more we let the facade of facebook or instagram be our stories, the more we obfuscate our true selves. We are allowing the computer algorithms to divide us into categories. We don’t have the chance to personally interact with one another and in doing so, make a discovery. For instance, in talking to the person we may pass on the street, we might serendipitously discover that we have a common interest. Shared interests bind people and communities together.

I haven’t been to our local library in a while. When I used to go, I would go home with an armful of books- some familiar topics and some completely new ones. It is always the book that I “just picked up” that would give me food for thought and inspiration. I imagine that is what a human library is all about.