So, what exactly are “Real Life Libraries”?
“It’s real people telling their real stories and they are available to check out as ‘books’ by community members there. You can actually walk into the library, check out a person, and hear their story,” says Jennifer Smith, one of the organizers of the Real Life Library Grand Opening at Madison Central Library. This groundbreaking event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4, 1-5 p.m. “The goal is to build empathy and community through sharing those stories that you might not normally hear in your circles or from your friends and family.”
Real Life Library is based on the human libraries concept. People are selected as “books” and trained to tell the story of their lived experience through a self-selected title. Community members – “readers” – are invited to the event where they can “check out” and “read” the “books” they are interested in, engaging in a one-on-one story-telling/listening session in the Reading Room.
“It has been done before in different places around the world and the United States and people have really liked it,” Smith tells Madison365. “At the Grand Opening event, it will be taking over the third floor of the library where there is a give-and-take area where people become their own books and readers in that space. Give and take is a concept that the librarians there have worked with. There will be an opportunity for people to share their own knowledge and to interact while they are waiting for books or when they are done with a book.”
Are these going to be interactive books?
“That would be at the discretion of the book. I believe that most of them will be but we’re letting the book decide whether that will be an option for them,” Smith says. “Some of these stories are going to be more sensitive than others. And some people are more comfortable with interaction and questions than others.”
For this initial go-around, there will be 15 books available at the kick-off event including Brenda Konkel’s “Adversity to Activist,” Sagashus Livingston’s “Honest Freedom,” Jaiden Love’s “The Power of Fear, Courage and Truth,” Michelle Moore McKiernan’s “Contentment out of Chaos,” Femi Sokoya’s “Faith of All Kinds: Passion, Adaptability and Support in Leadership,” Eric Upchurch’s “Super Powers,” Ja’Mel Ware’s “Building a Legacy” and more.
The Real Life Library is a partnership between Madison Public Library, Mr. Origin, and WHOA(We Help One Another. WHOA is a cooperative non-profit organized to address economic inequality that envisions a thriving world where well-being is wealth. “In the long term, Garrett [Lee, co-founder of WHOA,] has talked about getting this into schools and working with schools and getting this integrated into a curriculum module so students can access people they might not normally encounter and then build that empathy on a larger scale,” Smith says.
Outside of the event, each of the books will be interviewed while video recorded. Thus, each event creates a digital volume of books; each volume will be based on a topical social issue.
“We have another date scheduled for Central Library on Sept. 16, but in the interim we are looking at ways to expand this not only to the satellite libraries but also to coffeehouses and other places where people congregate around the city,” Smith says. “We’d love to take it outside of Madison and other places. Who knows where it could stop?”
Kids under 13 attending the Real Life Library Grand Opening must be accompanied by an adult.
“Everyone has a story. Sometimes it blows my mind that every single person that I will ever meet knows something that I don’t know,” Smith says. “Sometimes I get floored by that. For me, it’s a fantastic opportunity to help organize it.”
The Real Life Library Grand Opening will take place Saturday, Feb. 4, 1-5 p.m. at Madison Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St. There will be food provided at the event.
For more information, call (608) 266-6300
