Human Library

The Human Library is an innovative method designed to promote dialogue, reduce prejudices and encourage understanding.

In its initial form the Human Library is a mobile library 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.

Check out our pictures from our previous Human Library events:

2010 Human Library: The Art of Living

2011 Human Library: Don't judge a Book by its Cover

It is this time again! RDPL is going to host the third Human Library: Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover event on Saturday, March 24 at Dawe branch.
A Human Library format builds bridges through dialogue - which is one way of creating safety and cohesion in a community. When people get to know each other, they begin to feel more comfortable and safe together.
Becoming a Human Library reader or a Living Book offers a chance to address concerns directly through dialogue. Started 10 years ago in Europe, the format of a Human Library has been successfully adopted by many libraries around the world in a variety of settings. (See Human Library).
Check out what living books we have so far in our Human Library collection:

Remember, these are stereotypes.

Vegetarian
When Mom said "eat your vegetables", I am one of the kids who listened and now brussels sprouts, eggplant and lima beans are my favourites. You must wonder; "never eating an Alberta beef steak again, why would someone do that to themselves?"  It must be because I think meat is gross, or because I know that only veggies are healthy, or maybe I just like the fact that all vegetables come in pretty colours? And how about that Tofu? All us vegetarians love that stuff!  Yum, yum, yum!

Loud, Proud and Gay
Like all gay men, I'm very feminine, which you'll see when I run or throw a baseball. What I lack in sports, I make up for in creativity. Fashion design and home decorating are industries us gay men own. Like my mentor, Elton John, I dress flamboyantly. My female friends think I'm the best because sometimes I let them borrow my clothes and I also understand all the stupid things their boyfriends do.

Living with Blindness
We, blind people should be pitied, or so you might think.  Most people assume we can't read or write unless we use that weird Braille language.  Some of us can play the piano but not everyone is Stevie Wonder so make sure you raise your voice when talking to blind people because they must be a bit deaf too. It's impossible for them to live by themselves, especially for women, because someone has to do their hair and makeup. Let alone cooking and cleaning. It's really hard to imagine what they do for fun too.

B-Boy
B-boys (or break dancer boy) usually dance all day on the streets because they don't have anything else to do, have an entourage of cute girls and mean looking boys, and walk around with boom boxes on their shoulders. They can often be seen wearing high tops, headbands and listening to 80s music.

MAGspraks artist
You haven't heard about MAGsparks? MAGsparks is an inclusive and accessible visual art program for everyone based in Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery. Some people think that MAGsparks artists are slow

Dutch
Dutch... hmm.. I think I have heard of that before.. ah yes.. "going Dutch" that's when
I take a girl on a date and tell her she has to pay for half!  No?!?!  What exactly is a "Dutch" person then? It is often believed that I am a farmer with blue eyes and blond hair. I wear wooden shoes on my feet and love cheese! My country is home to one of the best soccer teams in the world. My garden is full of tulips and other beautiful flowers, but don't expect me to share them with you, because everyone knows how cheap Dutch people are! I must be a good swimmer due to the fact that 2/3 of my country lies below the sea level- don't you think?   I speak Dutch, not German!

The Travelling (By Wheelchair) Man
I am the travelling man! I travel all around Red Deer in my chair.  Spreading the news is what I enjoy. Whether it's with a poster, or a sign, or with my voice, I can tell you what's going on in our community.  I ride public transit and I ride off public transit. I use a wheelchair to get everywhere in between.  Just like the paper boy and the mail man, I do not let rain, snow, sleet or hail get me down. I am the travelling man!

Autism Service Dog
You probably feel sorry for us; you usually see us poor dogs "at work" in public places.  We look like we don't know what a good dog's life is really about, always serious, even glum, maybe.  We may seem like we could use some petting from strangers because, obviously, we don't get it enough from our owners, right??

Salvadorian Citizen
That kind of sounds like a type of lizard, doesn't it?  I am actually a person from
El Salvador.  You might think that we must eat lots of tacos because our country sounds like that type of salsa, "Old El Paso" that you like to eat!   You may have thought I was one of those people that you have seen, looking violent and carrying around machine guns and hand guns everywhere we go. Maybe you thoughts we had tattoos all over our bodies, all belonged to gangs and were all involved in the drug trade.  Some people think we are all poor, uneducated and lazy and that our country is dangerous and always at war. We love to dance to
Salsa music, among other catchy Latin beats.  You might think we speak and look like Mexican people, but wait- we aren't Mexican!  No, we are Salvadorian!

Paraplegic
Make sure you hold the door open for him, ‘cuz he certainly can't open it himself! It must be sad not to be able to do any of the fun things that normal people get to do. He probably feels left out all the time. The cool thing is that he always gets the best parking spot and sits in the front row at all the big events.

All-Natural female Body-Builder
Everyone knows what happens to the female physique with heavy weight-training. You end up looking like Jay Cutler.

Bilingual Canadian
"Doesn't she speak English? Oh, I see -- both French and English. Doesn't that get awfully confusing? French, you said -- when will she use that in Alberta?" It is peachy and cream to grow up as a bilingual child in an anglophone province.

83 year old
Do people live that long? Maybe, if you made it so far, you are home-bound, dependent on the mercy of others and spend all your days in a chair musing about your past.

Exchange Student
When you are going to live abroad in a host family, it usually looks like a host mom, host dad, and at least one host sibling who is your age. Oh, and a big house and a dog, too. You also get lots of  attention,   trips,  space and  autonomy.


Iranian
Stay away from them. They are all terrorists and carry guns. Never get behind one at the airport because they will take forever going through security. And the way they treat their women? Totally disrespectful.

German
From Germany you say? You must be a beer drinking Nazi with no sense of humour. Do you always walk around in Lederhosen and speak your mind to people and treat them rudely? And I guess you are fat because of all the sausage and Sauerkraut you eat.

Polish
People from this country are laze, never smile and complain a lot. They all love to drink vodka. You really don't want to visit because the people are intolerant and full of anti-semitism. And dangerous? Organized crime and car theft are part of every day life.

Ukrainian
The place where men are tall, built like linebackers, drunkards, opinionated, rude and abusive to women. Men are either ‘workaholics' or ‘lazy bums'. But the women make up for it because they are all tall, thin, blond and sexy. And of course neither gender is very smart. 

Art from The Streets
Only certain people can be artists. You have to have money, go to school to study and have your own studio. Artists are starving. If you don't live in a nice home, there is no way you can be an artist.

Horticulturist (sight impaired)
the Garden Sage
The Garden Sage can answer almost any question you may have about gardening in Alberta. If you have questions about insects, pests and diseases, which plant to plant where or have questions about planning and design, ask the Garden Sage. the Garden Sage can also give you tips on how to plan and design a vegetable garden that is low maintenance so you can spend your spare time outdoors on your lawn chair with a cold drink enjoying your garden.

Venezuela
People from this country eat very healthy

Muslim
These people are billionaires because they are rich oilmen. Well not all. The others are terrorists. And because the women are so sexy, they are all belly dancers.The women all wear head scarves so they must have something to hide. And the way they treat their criminals? Barbaric.

Needle Drug User
All these people do is steal for their habit. They don't care about anyone else and they certainly don't have family that they love. They are constantly stoned and can't get a real job because they didn't finish school. Once a user, always a user.

Tatiana Poliakevitch