The Human Library is a worldwide movement for social change; it is a unique and innovative project that ‘publishes’ people as open books. Volunteer Galway aims to develop a group of volunteers for the Human Library Project to act as ‘books’ that others can ‘borrow’ to ‘read’. While this may seem a little odd, the aim of this endeavour is to create safe dialogue in the community to challenge stereotypes and discrimination through personal conversation.
Volunteer Galway has become a licensee with the Human Library Organisation in Copenhagen, currently operating in 80 countries across the globe. The group has been working closely with HLO to access training for volunteers and offer any other supports that are available.
With Ruth Fagan leading the Human Library Project in Galway, the organisation has been successful in recruiting volunteers as ‘human books’. These volunteers are ready to be ‘published’ for the first event, which is expected to be held in the coming months. This event will act as a pilot with the long-term goal of establishing a library depot in Galway, the first of its kind in Ireland. The event is expected to take place in the Galway Rowing Club.
Volunteer Galway is seeking more volunteers to participate and become part of a diverse range of ‘books’ covering many areas of prejudice, stereotype, and stigma in society. Titles in a human library can relate to many areas of prejudice including gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religious beliefs, mental health, addiction, social status, and many more.
Each volunteer will pose as a human book, representing a group in society that experiences prejudice and marginalisation. Some examples of such titles include Muslim, Traveller, Lesbian, Transgender, Bi-Polar, Refugee, and Recovering Alcoholic. All of these volunteers are people with real, personal experience with their topic. This original project provides an opportunity to challenge pre-existing societal stereotypes, offering people a chance to ‘unjudge’ someone.
This is done by creating a safe space for discourse, where topics are discussed openly between human books and their readers. The Human Library acts as a platform through which difficult questions are expected, appreciated, and answered. The organisation’s events are hosted virtually and in libraries, museums, festivals, conferences, schools, universities, and the private sector.
During an event, a reading with a human book will last for 30 minutes, with guidelines for readers regarding respect for books that they ‘borrow’. Additionally, readers are encouraged to engage in curious conversations around uncomfortable topics. The identity of the books is kept anonymous, and readers do not share the content of their reading after the event. Since there is a degree of vulnerability involved in this volunteer role, supporting psychological safety for volunteers is paramount in the Human Library, and this aspect is embedded in the training programme, as well as the overall framework of the library’s establishment.
For more information about the Human Library, or if you would like to join the diverse collection of books, visit the HLO website: https://humanlibrary.org/
