Living Library

Kathleen Thorne of Bainbridge Island, along with others, was interviewed recently on BBC Radio about their experience with "Living Libraries". You can listen to the interview by clicking on the audio player below.

The Living Library or Human Library is an innovative method designed to promote dialogue, reduce prejudices and encourage understanding. The main characteristics of the project are to be found in its simplicity and positive approach. The basic concept is to "check out" people rather than books.

The Human Library is set up as a space for dialogue and interaction. Visitors to the Human Library are given the opportunity to speak informally with “people on loan”; this latter group being extremely varied in age, sex and cultural background.

The Human Library enables groups to break stereotypes by challenging the most common prejudices in a positive and humorous manner. It is a concrete, easily transferable and affordable way of promoting tolerance and understanding.

It is a “keep it simple”, “no-nonsense” contribution to social cohesion in multicultural societies.