Menneskebiblioteket - the Start to 2025 I Didn’t Know I Needed.
Photo by Iñaki del Olmo, @inakihxz
This weekend I attended a Menneskebiblioteket, or a Human Library. While I decided to go on a whim, I literally can’t stop thinking about it – the openness, the community, the optimism.
“The Human Library is a library just like any other. The difference is that the books in our library are people with lived experiences and stories. It is a place to challenge stereotypes and prejudice through dialogue.
Every open book is drawn from a group in society who are negatively marginalized or targeted with prejudice and discrimination because of their identity, lifestyle, occupation, social status, religious beliefs, sexuality, ethnic origin, or something similar.” -Human Library Organization via Instagram
The “books” (i.e., human volunteers) were fascinating: Addiction, in recovery. Living with a chronic illness. Total blindness and hearing deficit. Mennonite. American Muslim Revert. Fat. Non-binary person. Raised by grandmothers. Soldier, 1968. Disability. Chinese immigrant. Transgender person. Child of Holocaust survivors. Autistic non-binary person. Russian immigrant. Parent of multiply disabled children.[1]
I “checked out” Fat, Total blindness and hearing deficit, and Chinese immigrant, but was fascinated by all the topics. Then I, either alone or with a few other patrons, was able to “read” each book for 30 minutes, asking questions I wouldn’t have the chance to otherwise. Was it uncomfortable? Enormously. Did I feel awkward as I started asking questions? Absolutely. Did each conversation make me rethink at least one previous opinion I held? 100%.
The graciousness and sincerity of each human book was inspiring. As an introvert, I can’t imagine opening myself up to strangers like that. But I realized how important that in-person community connection is. And, as I watched the line of other patrons stretching out the door, I know I wasn’t alone in this feeling.
With the current US climate right now—the distrust, polarization, and isolation that seem ever-present—it feels like opportunities for connection with others are rarer than they once were. Though attending the Human Library was a one-off event, the reminder to intentionally engage with new people and challenge my own assumptions will stay with me far longer than that afternoon. Such remembrances are worth a bit of discomfort.
Thanks for reading,
Shannon
[1] Note: my understanding is that each “book” got to choose the exact way their topic was worded.