The world is a book and those that do not travel will only ever read the first page." |
How does a Living Library Project work?
A Living Library activity offers an approach to dealing with often serious or difficult topics, and it can go a long way in breaking down barriers and assumptions while potentially preventing issues of tension and alleviating conflict. The activity involves people offering to act as “Books.” Visitors to the “Library” have the opportunity to “borrow” a book for a conversation about themselves and their experiences. A Living Library helps us to travel the world by listening to people’s stories about where they come from and where they’ve been. People who have experienced discrimination or who are at risk of exclusion can be ‘Books’ in a Living Library. Living Library activities create safe environments in which people who would not normally converse may engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue. The process increases understanding between people of different backgrounds.
For your event, you may choose a room, a library, community space or alternative safe venue, where “Books” can be made available to visitors. Having t-shirts or badges printed with ‘Book’ signs and creating library cards and a library catalogue will help you to begin to create a space for people to choose a topic of interest, read books, and learn more about someone’s story.
Benefits and Opportunities:
How to Choose and Recruit Living Books
‘Books’ from different cultures are some of the most popular books read by readers. ‘Books’ on different religions, ways of life, specific customs and practices, issues of sexuality, and responses to conflict are also popular amongst ‘Readers’. There is also great value from reading elderly people’s stories as ‘Books’.
It is important to be clear about the purpose of your Living Library. Find ‘Books’ that represent diverse personal stories. Individuals who have experienced marginalization, negative stereotyping and prejudice in their local community offer new readers a chance to gain new perspectives and insights into current issues or unresolved tensions. Include people from various backgrounds and ages, including those that represent a way of life that is different to those of most of the readers. Invite people to become books from diverse cultural or faith backgrounds as well as indigenous, disabled or people from mixed sexualities and gender perspectives. Traditional artists, poets, and community storytellers offer great insights for understanding the traditions held by a community. Consider what stories are missing from your library and try to include them. ‘Books’ need to have a personal story to share.
Once the initial contact with potential ‘Books’ has been made by phone, referral, email or in person, set up a first face to-face meeting. Give ‘Books’ an overview of the project and discuss how a Living Library works and what is involved. Listen to their stories and encourage books to think about key chapters they may tell to others. Coming up with a Book title for the catalogue will encourage focus. Discuss story ideas and help books to formulate their story pages. Help them decide which parts of their story to talk about.
Ask Books to bring along a draft story page and practice readings with other Books. People may recognize they need more time for healing before they are ready to be a Book therefore it is the organizer’s responsibility to make a judgment call if Books are ready to share their stories in this way. Often personal objects, like photos will help to illustrate stories and help to focus a story. You may decide that giving people the transcriptions from an interview will help participants to create their own Book story. The interview process will ignite ideas about personal stories that they may feel compelled to turn into a book themselves.
Invite readers to select their books
Once you have your books and readers confirmed and have chosen a day to host the Living Library event, you are now ready to begin your Living Library project. Open up your Living Library and allow readers to interact with their chosen Books. You may ask readers to select a few Books to meet that day or carry out a rotation. You may decide to host your Living Library around World Book Day, International Women’s Day, Human Rights day or International Children Day, as this will help to promote and offer focus to your event. Ideas about important years and dates are provided in the appendices of this toolkit.
Encourage readers to select books that offer something new to them. These may be interrelated with specific themes or events. As you compile your library think about how to offer a wide-ranging selection that draws from refugee stories or themes around home, belonging, place, identity, migration, travel, change, family, or community.
Feedback & Follow-Up
Following the Living Library event, encourage your Books and readers to share what they have learned. You may want to do this by asking them to write up their own personal stories or tell their experience of the event in their own way. You can choose to conduct an informal interview with them to allow readers to share what they have learned about others. Taking photographs of one-on-one conversations can also be used as follow-up material to spark great conversations and allow further follow-up events. These materials may be used in conjunction with a local museum, art gallery, community space, town square, or place of worship to create a living community program that speaks and tells the stories of its own community. Of course, how you pitch your events and programs will depend on the groups you are working with, the issues being raised, and what you’re aiming to achieve by hosting the event.
A Living Library activity offers an approach to dealing with often serious or difficult topics, and it can go a long way in breaking down barriers and assumptions while potentially preventing issues of tension and alleviating conflict. The activity involves people offering to act as “Books.” Visitors to the “Library” have the opportunity to “borrow” a book for a conversation about themselves and their experiences. A Living Library helps us to travel the world by listening to people’s stories about where they come from and where they’ve been. People who have experienced discrimination or who are at risk of exclusion can be ‘Books’ in a Living Library. Living Library activities create safe environments in which people who would not normally converse may engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue. The process increases understanding between people of different backgrounds.
For your event, you may choose a room, a library, community space or alternative safe venue, where “Books” can be made available to visitors. Having t-shirts or badges printed with ‘Book’ signs and creating library cards and a library catalogue will help you to begin to create a space for people to choose a topic of interest, read books, and learn more about someone’s story.
Benefits and Opportunities:
- Increased understanding between groups – ‘Readers’ and ‘Books’ of diverse ages, ethnicities, or backgrounds.
- Young ‘Books’ give older adults a chance to meet with young people and help them to face their own prejudices.
- Living Libraries offer people who are ‘Books’ opportunities for growth. They create opportunities for ‘Books’ to read other ‘Books,’ to make friends with each other, to develop and increase their understanding of people in their community.
How to Choose and Recruit Living Books
‘Books’ from different cultures are some of the most popular books read by readers. ‘Books’ on different religions, ways of life, specific customs and practices, issues of sexuality, and responses to conflict are also popular amongst ‘Readers’. There is also great value from reading elderly people’s stories as ‘Books’.
It is important to be clear about the purpose of your Living Library. Find ‘Books’ that represent diverse personal stories. Individuals who have experienced marginalization, negative stereotyping and prejudice in their local community offer new readers a chance to gain new perspectives and insights into current issues or unresolved tensions. Include people from various backgrounds and ages, including those that represent a way of life that is different to those of most of the readers. Invite people to become books from diverse cultural or faith backgrounds as well as indigenous, disabled or people from mixed sexualities and gender perspectives. Traditional artists, poets, and community storytellers offer great insights for understanding the traditions held by a community. Consider what stories are missing from your library and try to include them. ‘Books’ need to have a personal story to share.
Once the initial contact with potential ‘Books’ has been made by phone, referral, email or in person, set up a first face to-face meeting. Give ‘Books’ an overview of the project and discuss how a Living Library works and what is involved. Listen to their stories and encourage books to think about key chapters they may tell to others. Coming up with a Book title for the catalogue will encourage focus. Discuss story ideas and help books to formulate their story pages. Help them decide which parts of their story to talk about.
Ask Books to bring along a draft story page and practice readings with other Books. People may recognize they need more time for healing before they are ready to be a Book therefore it is the organizer’s responsibility to make a judgment call if Books are ready to share their stories in this way. Often personal objects, like photos will help to illustrate stories and help to focus a story. You may decide that giving people the transcriptions from an interview will help participants to create their own Book story. The interview process will ignite ideas about personal stories that they may feel compelled to turn into a book themselves.
Invite readers to select their books
Once you have your books and readers confirmed and have chosen a day to host the Living Library event, you are now ready to begin your Living Library project. Open up your Living Library and allow readers to interact with their chosen Books. You may ask readers to select a few Books to meet that day or carry out a rotation. You may decide to host your Living Library around World Book Day, International Women’s Day, Human Rights day or International Children Day, as this will help to promote and offer focus to your event. Ideas about important years and dates are provided in the appendices of this toolkit.
Encourage readers to select books that offer something new to them. These may be interrelated with specific themes or events. As you compile your library think about how to offer a wide-ranging selection that draws from refugee stories or themes around home, belonging, place, identity, migration, travel, change, family, or community.
Feedback & Follow-Up
Following the Living Library event, encourage your Books and readers to share what they have learned. You may want to do this by asking them to write up their own personal stories or tell their experience of the event in their own way. You can choose to conduct an informal interview with them to allow readers to share what they have learned about others. Taking photographs of one-on-one conversations can also be used as follow-up material to spark great conversations and allow further follow-up events. These materials may be used in conjunction with a local museum, art gallery, community space, town square, or place of worship to create a living community program that speaks and tells the stories of its own community. Of course, how you pitch your events and programs will depend on the groups you are working with, the issues being raised, and what you’re aiming to achieve by hosting the event.