By: Max Vanderglas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark (UATV) – The human library was an idea founded in Denmark in the year 2000, and it was a way for people from all different backgrounds and cultures to share their life story to an engaged audience.
The University of Arkansas started their own version of the human library back in 2009. Starting tomorrow through Thursday, it will be the universities 20th time hosting one, and spot’s to attend are still open.
Students, faculty and staff will be able to share their story and life experiences to each other in an event that will be educational and informative.
The event starts tomorrow, March 14 and will run at different scheduled times through Thursday, March 16.
The event will take place at Holcombe Hall lounge, and anyone interested in attending and hearing from the different speakers can head to the University of Arkansas news page to find the sign up sheet which will be through givepulse.
Head librarian for the event, Trey Smith, thinks the format of the human library really lets the speakers open up, and speak more than they would in other settings.
“It’s really more like a therapeutic experience. Sometimes it may be harder to speak in a ‘therapy’ type environment with a counselor. And these are normal people coming and speaking whether it’s faculty, staff or even just students coming and sharing their stories.”
He also believes that everyone needs to take time to learn in their life, and educate themselves off of other people’s experiences, especially people on our campus who we are surrounded by everyday.
“Take that time to come out to the human library and hear different stories, hear different backgrounds and really just start to understand the makeup of our campus in totality.”
Another head librarian for the event, Sophia Ordaz, is a graduate assistant with “la oficina latina” at the University of Arkansas, and she says that the stories can differ a lot as some talk about difficult moments in their lives.
“In the past people have shared about their experiences you know having a miscarriage, or surviving a natural disaster, there experiences being a refugee or an immigrant.”
She thinks the event is a great opportunity for students to really take time and experience an uncomfortable conversation and go through that experience together.
“I feel like a lot of times in our day and age, we don’t actively listen to each other enough, we are on our phones a lot, or we are thinking about the next thing. So it’s a moment to slow down and really show up on a human to human level for someone else.”
Assistant Director of Diversity Initiatives, AnReckez Daniels, says that he has always supported students attending and thinks the experience is very creative.
“I think it’s a really cool idea, I mean we all go to the library and check out books, but this one is you are actually checking out a person and you can talk and have 1 on 1 conversation.”
He also says that the experience can open the minds of students and give them a view into someone’s life who is very different from their own.
“The human library helps students open up and kinda see ‘oh my god there is someone from here who does this’ and kinda create those diverse experiences for them but in a very intimate way.”