FIND: Books, DVD’s, magazines, people?
Jinfo Blog

By Jan Knight

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How could the headline “Public library will lend out people as ‘living books’" not catch my eye? This week Springwise wrote about a public library in BC, Canada that is giving new meaning to the phrase “checking out”! Volunteers who are experts in certain fields are available for chats over coffee in the library’s new café. The premise is that there are huge repositories of experience and knowledge in the actual people who work with all the traditional resources and this plan helps to bring the library to life for their users.

It turns out that not only is this concept already in place in two other British Columbia libraries, but the idea of the Human Library is not exactly new according to HumanLibrary.org. They cite the concept initially being shared at a Danish music and food festival in 2000. Posters, library cards, t-shirts and books were available as were new guidelines for loaning out people! The promotional materials alone are well worth a look for their creativity and humour. In this original concept, the goal was to promote “dialogue, reduce prejudices and encourage understanding” and one of my favourite promotional posters says:  “Borrow a person you normally would think you would not like. We have a wide selection of unpopular stereotypes…just remember to give back the person within two hours”.

The American Library Association (ALA) Conference this year also hosted a session educating and encouraging libraries throughout the US to consider offering some form of human library to its patrons. One of the primary objectives of the Human Library Organization is to “establish links with local partners in all 50 states before the end of 2012”.

The UK’s Human Library also helps promote the methodology and helps new organisations get established.

What strikes me is how this concept could be incorporated into the marketing of a corporate library or information centre to internal clients. Obviously, many corporate librarians are solo workers and don’t have the time to “visit” or "have coffee” with every employee. However, the idea of building that personal relationship and promoting his/her knowledge could not only help in building awareness of the library and its sources, but help break down stereotypes of librarians and their value even in the digital world and world of online resources.

Check out the photo galleries from around the world to give you inspiration.

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