The brainchild of a group of idealist youth in Copenhagen, the Human Library project is now being undertaken by libraries (and other institutions) worldwide. The concept is simple: instead of signing out books, you sign out people. You spend a short time with them (typically 20 or 30 minutes) and hear their story. It’s an opportunity for the lenders to ask questions openly and challenge their views, and for the lendees to be proverbial open books.
Acadia University’s Vaughan Memorial Library is hosting their own edition of the Human Library October 22 and 23, 2010, in collaboration with the local public library. Those who attend will be able to sign out, among others, a student who has lived in a refugee camp, a person who faced near death, a queer mother, and a man who lived in the Soviet Union for 53 years.
