Borrow People instead of books at the human Library

BORROW PEOPLE INSTEAD OF BOOKS AT THE HUMAN LIBRARY – DURHAM

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14, STANFORD L WARREN BRANCH 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM

What if a book could look you in the eye and answer your questions? For Durham residents, an upcoming event will make that possible. At The Human Library – Durham real people will serve as “books” who are on loan for 1-on-1 conversations about their life experiences. Diverse volunteers from all across Durham will talk with “readers” and answer questions on topics including: religious beliefs, sexuality, ethnicity, occupation, lifestyle, social status, political conviction, and health & disability.

The Human Library – Durham will be presented as part of the Durham County Library’s Adult and Humanities Programming on Thursday, September 14 at the Stanford L. Warren Branch, 1201 Fayetteville St, from 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM.

Local organizer Tom Nevels heard about the concept on a WUNC radio broadcast and began to work towards building a Human Library Durham in the days and weeks following the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. The subsequent headlines kept him working towards the goal. “Perhaps with conversations such as those The Human Library facilitates, we can go about the work of mending our broken things together,” he says.

The first Human Library was developed in 2000 in Denmark by young people seeking to encourage dialogue about violence. More than a thousand readers took advantage, leaving books, librarians, organizers and readers stunned at the impact of the Human Library. Since then it has been presented in more than 70 countries around the world.

For more information and to volunteer / support the event, contact Tom Nevels at humanlibrarydurham@gmail.com