By Jimmeaha Mack, Staff Writer
“EcoFeminist”, “Growing Up ‘Too Much’”,“Navajo Woman With A Tri-sectional Belief System” and “How I Became the Parent of a Transgender Son” are some of the titles that will be seen at the Human Library of Selinsgrove will take place at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ from 1 to 3 p.m. on Nov. 17.
“The Human Library project seeks to have folks that normally wouldn’t spend time together sit down one-on-one to talk about life experiences, unique circumstances, [and] things … that the folks they are sitting with may have not ever dealt with before,” Ryan Ake, event manager and Susquehanna Research Librarian explained.
“The ultimate goal is to work to break down prejudices and combat stereotypes … to understand the different things that happen in other people’s lives,” Ake continued.
The Human Library was first developed in Copenhagen, Denmark in the spring of 2000. In April 2018, Ake along with the student organization Better Together and a few other students and faculty, held the first human library event for the Susquehanna community.
“I first learned about the Human Library Project my first year here at Susquehanna,” senior Erin Reid said, one of the students who helped with the first event. “I saw a video about it on Facebook and brought it up at a community forum about community safety and acceptance. Scott Kershner, the school’s chaplain, the library [staff], and I worked together to have our own event.”
“The first Human Library event was actually the one I helped to put together here on campus,” Reid continued. “It went so well that the community decided to plan their own. When I was asked to participate, I couldn’t say no.”
This year the Human Library will feature 18 different “books” including those listed above. Reid, in addition to helping create the first Human Library event on campus, was a human book at the event in April, and will be again this year. Reid’s story is entitled “The Witch Life.”
“My story is about my life as [a] witch in general,” Reid said. “I talk about how I got started, how I go about my day while practicing, and things of that nature. I figured that I was so open about this identity that I might as well make it the one I share with the larger community.”
In order to check out Reid’s story and others like it, attendees will be given the choice of different double-sided book covers each with the title, a photo of the speaker and a brief summary.
After browsing, the reader can check-out the book, sit down with that speaker, hear their story and ask any question that comes to mind.
Conversations are meant to last about 20 to 30 minutes. Guests will be able to listen to as many or as few stories as they would like.
“I think it’s easy to forget or not to think about how unique everybody’s life is,” Ake said. “Some of the really interesting, exciting, traumatic experiences that people go through that you sit beside in class, or the person that checks out your groceries or the person that is lecturing in your class.”
“They are really unique stories that everyone has that you just never know,” Ake continued. “It’s exciting when you think about the unique make up of your community, and the things that people have gone through and I think when you are aware of that, it makes for a much more rich group of people.”