The Castleton Education Department will be hosting the second annual Human Library event on Thursday, December 4 at 4 pm in the Campus Center 1787 Room.
Stemming out of Copenhagen, Denmark in the aftermath of a series of violent hate crimes, the Human Library has become an international initiative to break down social stereotypes and provide community members the opportunity to tell their story in an informal and accepting atmosphere.
“We were the first collegiate institution in the state to do the Human Library and we are very proud of that,” said Assistant Professor of Education Emily Gleason of last year’s event.
The Human Library is hosted by the Education Department’s Inquiry I and Inquiry II course students and serves to bring college and community members together to share their personal experiences.
“It’s a way to celebrate the community,” said Gleason. “This is an opportunity to get to know someone you wouldn’t ordinarily get to.”
Prior to the event a variety of individuals will be selected as ‘books’ and will write a short synopsis of their life story that will be used in a card check-out system for attendees to decide which ‘book’ they want to read.
“The idea is that instead of taking out a book from the library, you take out a human,” Gleason said.
With a structure of small group conversations, the Human Library event cultivates active listening and critical thinking skills that Gleason says are applicable to her course work.
Last year’s event drew in approximately 22 human books, which in addition to Castleton students consisted of Mayor of Rutland Christopher Louras, a cancer survivor, a disabled former professional baseball player and many others. This year, Gleason said she expects that number to double, keeping in mind the goal of the Human Library is to express that everyone as a valuable story to tell.
“We’re all books,” she said. “The idea is to hear from people’s personal experiences.”