At one Swedish library, you can borrow books├óÔé¼ÔÇØand people!
Posted: 27 Aug 2005, 21:03
A Swedish library, realizing that books are not the
only things being judged by their covers, will give
visitors a different opportunity this weekend├óÔé¼ÔÇØto
borrow a Muslim, a lesbian, or a Dane.
The city library in Malmo, Sweden's third-largest
city, will let curious visitors check out living
people for a 45-minute chat in a project meant to tear
down prejudices about different religions,
nationalities, or professions. The project, called
Living Library, was introduced at Denmark's Roskilde
Festival in 2000, librarian Catharina Noren said. It
has since been tried at a Copenhagen library as well
as in Norway, Portugal, and Hungary.
The people available to be "borrowed" also include a
journalist, a gypsy, a blind man, and an animal rights
activist. They will be available Saturday and Sunday
in conjunction with a Malmo city festival and are
meant to give people "a new perspective on life," the
library said in a statement. "There are prejudices
about everything," Noren said. "This is about fighting
those prejudices and promoting coexistence."
Borrowing a person will be free, and the library will
also provide coffee at its cafe where the "living
books" will answer questions about their lives,
beliefs, or jobs. "It's supposed to be relaxed and
human-to-human," Noren said.
Malmo, located on Sweden's southwestern coast, has one
of Sweden's largest immigrant communities. It is also
located just a narrow strait away from Denmark, and
centuries of warfare between the countries has been
replaced with a friendlier rivalry in recent decades.
Still, both nationalities have several stereotypes
about their neighbors. "Danish Radio called to ask
what prejudice we have about Danes," Noren said. "They
had some tough questions for me."
Interest in the project has been high, Noren said,
although the library does not allow bookings├óÔé¼ÔÇØthe human
subjects will be checked out on a first-come,
first-served basis. And it will not necessarily be
people with prejudices who will take the opportunity.
"It could be that you're about to belong to one of
these categories yourself, such as someone losing
their eyesight," Noren said. "Or it could be someone
who just found out their child is a lesbian. But then
there are people who just want to unload a lot of
anger. These people [who get borrowed] are ready for
anything to happen."
The "living books" are all from the Malmo area and
were recruited via different organizations and
associations. However, it wasn't possible to find
suitable subjects from all desired professions. "We
would have liked to have a police officer and maybe a
meter maid," Noren said. (AP)
source:
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid19850.asp
only things being judged by their covers, will give
visitors a different opportunity this weekend├óÔé¼ÔÇØto
borrow a Muslim, a lesbian, or a Dane.
The city library in Malmo, Sweden's third-largest
city, will let curious visitors check out living
people for a 45-minute chat in a project meant to tear
down prejudices about different religions,
nationalities, or professions. The project, called
Living Library, was introduced at Denmark's Roskilde
Festival in 2000, librarian Catharina Noren said. It
has since been tried at a Copenhagen library as well
as in Norway, Portugal, and Hungary.
The people available to be "borrowed" also include a
journalist, a gypsy, a blind man, and an animal rights
activist. They will be available Saturday and Sunday
in conjunction with a Malmo city festival and are
meant to give people "a new perspective on life," the
library said in a statement. "There are prejudices
about everything," Noren said. "This is about fighting
those prejudices and promoting coexistence."
Borrowing a person will be free, and the library will
also provide coffee at its cafe where the "living
books" will answer questions about their lives,
beliefs, or jobs. "It's supposed to be relaxed and
human-to-human," Noren said.
Malmo, located on Sweden's southwestern coast, has one
of Sweden's largest immigrant communities. It is also
located just a narrow strait away from Denmark, and
centuries of warfare between the countries has been
replaced with a friendlier rivalry in recent decades.
Still, both nationalities have several stereotypes
about their neighbors. "Danish Radio called to ask
what prejudice we have about Danes," Noren said. "They
had some tough questions for me."
Interest in the project has been high, Noren said,
although the library does not allow bookings├óÔé¼ÔÇØthe human
subjects will be checked out on a first-come,
first-served basis. And it will not necessarily be
people with prejudices who will take the opportunity.
"It could be that you're about to belong to one of
these categories yourself, such as someone losing
their eyesight," Noren said. "Or it could be someone
who just found out their child is a lesbian. But then
there are people who just want to unload a lot of
anger. These people [who get borrowed] are ready for
anything to happen."
The "living books" are all from the Malmo area and
were recruited via different organizations and
associations. However, it wasn't possible to find
suitable subjects from all desired professions. "We
would have liked to have a police officer and maybe a
meter maid," Noren said. (AP)
source:
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid19850.asp