This time the event was much more widely advertised, and so we had a balanced audience of students, staff and external visitors – some coming from as far as Northampton. I also embedded the event as one of the opportunities available for our students as part of the HEAR scheme, which is a University-run achievement report which students receive alongside their graduation. Students who have volunteered as Human Books and Librarians, have valued this formal recog- nition of their volunteering contribution.
Sharing ideas
I have also been approached by colleagues from other academic libraries, who have been interested in my experiences in running this event. I was happy to talk to them and share what I’ve learned, discuss what worked and what hasn’t. They have subsequently gone on to organise Human Libraries in their libraries, which is great. A little later a colleague from public library service got in touch and asked if I could bring Human Library to Winchester Discovery Centre. I have always thought that a public library is an ideal environ- ment for this sort of event, so of course I said yes! And so, the 2019 edition ran for two days, with day one on campus and day two in the public library. It was very successful and generated a lot of interest from people of all ages – from primary school children to pensioners.
Learning points
Organising the human Library has been the most rewarding experience. When I embarked on this project, I had never organised any event before, so to say it’s been a learning curve would be an under- statement! I am quite a reserved person by nature, which may come as a surprise to the many people I have been work- ing with over the years. I had to stretch beyond my comfort zone and be much more extrovert than I would be naturally. The crucial and most time-consuming aspect of running has been curating the Human Book collection. Getting a diverse range of volunteers willing to become open books takes time and a lot of talking to people. I have used personal contacts, friends of friends, reached out to charities and societies, and attended other Human
30 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
The list of titles featured so far in Human Library Winchester: Adopted; African American; Animal Rights Activist; Alcoholic; Atheist, Autistic, BDSM, Bipolar, Borderline, Buddhist, Bisexual, Christian, Depressed, EU Citizen, Home Educator, Hunt Saboteur, Immigrant, Introvert, Lesbian, Mormon, Muslim, Non-Binary, OCD, On Benefits, Polyamorous, Post-Apartheid, Priest, Refugee, Suicide Survivor, Tattooed Professional, Transgender and Vegan.
Libraries to expand my list of titles as much as possible. I managed to get quite a diverse collection, but there are still titles I would very much have liked to have, but it proved too difficult.
Reflecting back on this project, I can see how much it helped me develop pro- fessionally and as a person. I definitely have not expected it to take me where it has, and that’s part of the journey. When I was starting out it was pretty much a one-woman team, and although my managers have been supportive, it still meant I had to do everything from book- ing rooms and catering, to editing videos, taking photos, writing copy for marketing materials, designing posters, and writing countless emails to tie it all together… In round two I secured the funding from uni- versity’s senior management in my insti- tution, which again is not something I do in my daily job. This constant stretching myself and doing new things for the first time has been the thing I enjoyed most. Because I wanted to share my experienc- es, I have been talking about this project in various library conferences, including the regional EMEA OCLC conference
The Human Library at Winchester Discovery Centre.
in Marseille last year and recently at Decolonising Libraries conference at Goldsmith University. I have also been able to involve my student volunteers in some of the presentations, so they could reflect on their involvement with this project. It was great to listen to them describe how much they’ve enjoyed it. Looking back at the humble beginnings, and the first edition put together in a haste with little time to prepare and virtually no money, it’s been quite a ride!
I am still approached by people inter- ested in becoming Human Books, or asking me when the next edition of the Human Library is going to be. There is definitely still the need and the appetite for it, and plenty of prejudice that needs to be challenged.
Inspired to give it a go?
Head to the official Human Library website,
humanlibrary.org, where you can learn more about the format, register as an organiser and find events happening in your area. Many existing Human Libraries have social media presence, including Human Library Winchester (@humanlibwinch).
I would definitely recommend visiting another Human Library before running your own event. Read a few Human Books, talk to the organisers and get the feel of how it all works. If your budget is tight, it’s possible to run this event with very little money. Your main concern will be the time commitment, especially gathering the volunteers, and making sure the event is well advertised and draws enough interest. There’s nothing worse than a library with- out readers! IP
March 2020
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