Libraries and Partners Offer Second Human Library Event

The Syracuse University Libraries will host its second annual Human Library event on Wednesday, April 1, from 2-5 p.m. in Bird Library, in partnership with 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.

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.” The event is intended to encourage diversity and challenge stereotypes and prejudices.

Human books—SU faculty, staff and students from a variety of campus departments—will engage in one-on-one or small group conversations for 20 minutes at a time. They will discuss different cultures, including Native American, Egyptian and Indian, as well as topics such as mental health, bullying, poetry and autism. Many of the human books will share stories of empowerment, self-discovery and overcoming obstacles to find success and happiness.

The event is open to the campus community and no preregistration is required, although participants can reserve a book in advance for a specific time, if desired, by completing the form on this page: http://researchguides.library.syr.edu/humanlibrary/reserve.

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, supported by the Central NY Library Resources Council. 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.