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http://www.upworthy.com/check-out-a-human-library-where-you-borrow-people-instead-of-books?c=upw1

Check out a human library, where you borrow people instead of books.

• February 18, 2016

A surely unforgettable experience reaching all corners of the world.

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There are libraries popping up around the world where you can see the books breathe.

You can watch the books blink, cry, laugh, and think. You can ask them any sort of question and get a real answer.

It's what the books hope you'll do.

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The library desk at the 2015 Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark. All images via the Human Library, used with permission.

At the Human Library, the books are people!

It's set up just like a normal library: You check out a "book" on a certain topic and have an allotted amount of time with it. Only at the Human Library, the book is, well, a human.

People who volunteer to become "books" make their experiences open and available, usually on issues that people tend to have a difficult time discussing. "Readers" are encouraged to ask questions freely, and they'll get honest answers in return. It's brilliant.

What kind of books can you borrow there?

1. Borrow a person with autism.

With 1 in 68 kids diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) today, there's no better way to learn about it than by interacting with someone who has it.

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2. Borrow someone who has modified their appearance.

Ever make assumptions about people with lots of piercings and tattoos? Here's an opportunity to stop judging a book by its cover and get to know the inside.

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3. Borrow a refugee and hear their story.

You've heard about the Syrian refugee crisis in the news. Why not put the media on hold and talk to an actual refugee?

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4. Borrow someone who is transgender.

Perhaps you've always had questions about being transgender but didn't know how to ask them. Go ahead. Get your questions ready.

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5. Borrow a homeless person.

What stories do they have of a life you may never know?

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6. Borrow someone with deaf-blindness.

Just because they communicate differently doesn't mean their stories are less.

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7. Borrow someone who is obese.

Society loves to put people in categories. Break through those boundaries to get a fuller picture.

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You can borrow a police officer. A veteran with PTSD. A single mom. A Muslim. Someone in a polyamorous relationship. A former gang member. A sex worker. A welfare recipient. A teacher. The list goes on.

The libraries are bringing people who would otherwise never interact together in a way that many communities long for.

That's what Ronni Abergel has sought to do since the library's launch in 2000. During a four-day test run at the Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen, organizers and festival attendees were stunned at the event's impact.

"The policeman sitting there speaking with the graffiti writer. The politician in discussions with the youth activist and the football fan in a deep chat with the feminist. It was a win-win situation and has been ever since," Ronni said on the Human Library's site.

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A no-judgment zone is one key to its impact.

"It's meant to be a safe space to ask difficult questions and not to be judged," he told Upworthy. "To try and gain an important insight into the life of someone you think you know something about, but..."

You don't.

It's been 16 years since that first library event in Denmark. Today, the library has spread to over 70 countries (including the United States!), with openings in South Africa, Sudan, Chile, and Israel planned for 2016.

In our quick-to-judge, increasingly polarized world, it's no wonder these events are growing in size. We need them.

When asked what has changed since these events started, Ronni responded, “The world has changed, for the worse.”

He points to there being less tolerance, less understanding, and less social cohesion than when he first had the idea back in 2000. And unfortunately, he's right.

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When we have states discriminating against transgender people using the bathroom, presidential candidates campaigning to ban an entire religion from entering the United States, and countries still facing stigma around Ebola, it can be hard to want to high-five humanity.

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There's so much to learn about one another. A group of readers here borrowed a nudist.

It's time to face our fears and confront our stereotypes. To embrace the diversity of this world will allow us to feel more secure in it.

"When you meet our books, no matter who you are and where you are from or which book you will be reading, in the end, inside every person, the result will say: we are different from each other, we see things differently and we live life differently. But there are more things that we have in common than are keeping us apart." Truth.

If there's one immediately impactful way to bring communities together, a Human Library might just be it.

This snapshot from an event at the University of Victoria is a great example of why.

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HUMAN LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA COME CHECK OUT A HUMAN BOOK!

Lara: The Human Library's event here at UVic is our second offering. The first one was in October 2010, and it is a worldwide phenomenon. It started in Denmark 12 years ago. It was an anti-violence initiative of peer-to-peer discussions around prejudice and violence in society. It's a great way to engage the community, both inside and outside the ring, on issues that are of interest, that shed light on the diversity in our community.

Megan: I'm hoping to today as well, this is my first day, that I'll be able to answer some really hard questions from people about who I am as a person and what my experience has been as a polyamorous, kinky, burlesquer, you know, parent, who lives with two men who are both my partners. Yeah, I'm here to tell it all, and I'm excited to. You know, it's OK. It's OK to let it go and just be who you are. And I was really glad to pass on that message because I had wished that someone had passed that on to me when I was here.

Jack: My book about Asian value is because it's also kind of sort of stereotype because there are so many different kinds of Asian values. East Asian, even in East Asia, Chinese people are different from Korean, different from Japanese, so I'm here to promote this kind of tolerance to different values. Like not all Chinese students are engineers.

Fern: My name is Fern Perkins. My book title is "The Accidental Rich." And it is the story of my journey of discovery, since I grew up in this neighbourhood, from the time I was a little girl until now, and how I discovered my ancestors and that I was Métis. So yes, I totally agree -- more talking, more interaction, more classrooms without walls. We need much more of that. I just think it's a wonderful idea that this human library has come to be an event. I hope it's regular.

University of Victoria

library.uvic.ca/events/humanlibrary Human Library

There may be small errors in this transcript.

About

Thumbnail image from the Human Library, used with permission. For more information on how to get involved with an event in your area or to start one of your own, check out their current events and Facebook pages.

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