The Syracuse University Libraries are seeking volunteer “human books” for the second annual Human Library event on Wednesday, April 1, from 2-5 p.m. in Bird Library. The purpose of a human library is to promote tolerance, challenge assumptions and celebrate diversity within our community by enabling participants to engage in conversation with people whom they may not otherwise encounter. A human library encourages people from different backgrounds to talk with and learn from each other in a safe environment.
During this event, human books from the SU community representing a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, areas of expertise and life experiences will share their stories in conversation with individual “readers.” Human books will lead one-on-one or small group conversations for 20 minutes at a time. The event is open to the campus community and no preregistration is required, although there will be an opportunity to reserve a book for a specific time if desired.
Human “books” and “readers” socialize during last year’s Human Library event.
Event organizers are accepting applications for human books until Friday, March 6. Faculty, staff and students can apply at http://tinyurl.com/bookvolunteer.
SU’s Human Library event is part of a regional Human Library program taking place during April, the month in which National Library Week is celebrated, with support from the Central NY Library Resources Council. SU event partners include the Disability Cultural Center, the Office of Learning Communities, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the School of Information Studies and the Slutzker Center for International Services.
The first Human Library program was held in 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark (see http://www.humanlibrary.org). Since then, similar events have been organized in libraries, schools and other institutions around the world.
For more information, see http://researchguides.library.syr.edu/humanlibrary.
