Someone’s life story might be the highest form of nonfiction. And for those curious about the life stories of others, an event this Saturday aims to foster conversation, understanding and dismantle stigma.
It’s called the “human library.”
Summit County librarian Susan “Murph” Murphy invites everyone to visit the Kimball Junction branch and have a conversation with nine volunteers—human “books”—about their identities and experiences.
“We're not revealing the titles of those books until Saturday,” Murph said. “It's kind of going to be like going into a regular library: you don't know what kind of amazing surprises you're going to have in front of you.”
The human books each have a topic, but it’s challenge-by-choice. No one conversation will be the same.
Other human libraries have featured people with disabilities, people in stigmatized professions, those who practice different religions, people who live with mental illness and those who were formerly incarcerated. Murph said Summit County will have family-friendly human books this weekend.
One of those nine books will be Cami Richardson, who sits on Park City’s LGBTQ+ Task Force. She said she’ll tell the story about her life as a transgender woman.
“My challenges being trans in Park City has not been nearly what some of the other people in our community have faced, so I'm very fortunate,” Richardson said. “But at the same time, I think it's important to educate people just what it's like to be transgender and some of the obstacles that I face.”
Richardson has helped organize a similar living library at Park City Library during past Pride Months. The difference now is that Summit County has licensed Saturday’s event with the official Human Library Organization.
The Denmark-based Human Library Organization began hosting human libraries in 2000. It was an experiment at that year’s Roskilde [ROSK-ILD] Festival, one of the largest music festivals in Europe.
The idea grew slowly, reaching the United States and Canada in 2008. Now the organization hosts libraries for companies and runs “human book depots,” which founder Ronni Abergel said publishes hundreds of books yearly in 87 countries on six different continents.
“We're not political; we're not religious; we're not on anybody's payroll; we're just looking to see if there's anybody in the community that shares our dream of being understood,” Abergel said.
Abergel’s organization trains human books on how to respond to awkward questions and situations if they arise. It’s the first time human books in the Park City area have received the training.
“There's still always questions that I prefer that people didn't ask,” Richardson said. “But if they are asked, then I have a way to answer the question politely without embarrassing them or myself.”
Conversations will be limited to about 20 minutes, but they can go longer, time and availability permitting.
“The human books can be renewed!” Murph said.
The human books are not, however, available for preorder. There’s no advance registration, so readers can come and go at their convenience.
The event runs from 11 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Kimball Junction branch of the Summit County Library.