A project that started out at a music festival in Denmark is making its way across the globe.
The Human Library project is an event where people get the opportunity to interact with people from all different walks of life.
The Ottawa Public Library is holding its third annual Human Library on Saturday. The event allows people to ‘check out’ a person for 20 minutes for a one-on-one conversation.
People who have been selected as a “book” include a sex worker, a person living with schizophrenia and CBC radio host Alan Neal.
“The main goal of the project is to ensure that this methodology is implemented in as many communities as possible across the planet, to do good, build cohesion and a greater understanding for diversity,” says one of the creators of the Human Library project, Ronni Abergel.
The program was launched in Copenhagen in 2000. When one of their friends was stabbed, five friends started the project to promote awareness about violence. They called it “Stop the Violence.”
When Stop the Violence had a booth at a music festival in Denmark, they needed a way to get peoples attention. The activity they used came to be the Human Library.
“I realized that the Human Library was an idea that belongs to the world and not just on Roskilde Festival,” says Abergel.
“As soon as I realized this had to go global I started working on bringing it out of Denmark. First to Norway then to Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and since then we are now on all continents but Africa,” she says.
The project is now adopted in over 27 countries worldwide. Abergel hopes to expand to Cairo and Israel this year.
With 40 books spread across five locations, last year around 280 people attended the event at libraries across Ottawa, according to co-ordinator of life-long learning and literacy at the Ottawa Public Library, Dorothy Jeffreys.
“It’s another way of sharing information and community building a more positive community,” said Jeffreys.
One of the “books” is anarchist, Dan Sawyer. This is Sawyer’s second year participating in the program.
Sawyer says he defines himself as an anarchist because he doesn’t believe in delegating authority to the government.
“We try to keep things more on an even level and have the chance to participate more actively and fully. People should be able to participate directly in decisions that affect them,” he says.
A community organizer in Ottawa for 15 years, Sawyer is passionate about issues such as poverty and low-income housing.
One of his most memorable moments is taking part in the Take the Capital Campaign during the 2002 G8 summit meeting.
Sawyer says he thinks the Human Library program is a great opportunity for the books and the readers.
“ It was fantastic, I loved it,” says Sawyer regarding last years Human Library.
“I had no idea going into it if anyone was going to talk to me or if they were (going to speak to me), were they just going to want to yell at me how anarchism is evil. But I was booked up the whole day and each person I talked to was really interesting.” Not only do the readers learn something during the program, but Sawyer says the books benefit as well.
“I actually learned things from people about anarchism that I didn’t know. Some people had a whole bunch of experience. It was a very two-way conversation.”
The event gives people a unique opportunity to learn about the world and people around them.
“Lets not be ashamed that we have based some things on assumptions or preconceptions, but be ready to take off the label and let those people move from that box to another,” says Abergel.
Every year the locations will change, other than the main branch in Centretown. This year there are four new locations.
There will be 16 different human books on offer at the main library, at 120 Metcalfe St.
List of locations and the full list of book descriptions can be found at the Ottawa Public Library website http://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/content/human-library.