Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal December 2008 Volume 6(6)

Resources

I am a book

The ‘Living Library’, the initiative in which people ‘borrow’ a person to learn from their experiences, has come to Scotland. Ewan McCormick and Linda Constable explain the concept and its successful launch at the Edinburgh Libraries Fair.

The first ‘Living Library’ in Scotland was launched at the Edinburgh Libraries Fair in November. Edinburgh City Libraries were at the forefront of the initiative which allows someone to ‘borrow’ a person for a conversation, to explore their experience or interests and to understand other backgrounds and cultures. The project seeks to develop closer cohesion between cultures and between individuals within the community, taking advantage of the trusted place of libraries in people’s experience.

Pioneered in Denmark at the Roskilde Festival 2000, Living Library gives direct access to someone else’s experience, for example, a person who has significant experience or a different perspective to share. It can be used to confront stereotypes and prejudices, to explore diversity, or simply to stimulate conversations (loans) that otherwise might not happen.

Over the past few years the idea has spread throughout the world, with Living Library events taking place in the US, Australia, Europe, and, in December in Kyoto, Japan  at the ATAC (Assistive Technology and Augmentative Communication), 2008 Conference.

The MLA (Museums, Libraries & Archives Council) funded a Living Library project in four English library authorities earlier this year: Bournemouth, Bradford, Kent and Staffordshire. There have also been Living Library events in London and Norwich with more planned for the future in public libraries, colleges and festivals. A Living Library Workshop for organisers in libraries was held in London in November 2008 and there is one planned for Scotland for early 2009.
Living Library MLA/Local Level Project by Kevin Harris and Linda Constable was shortlisted for a 2008 Award for Bridging Cultures (ABC) in November and received a Commendation for promoting intercultural dialogue in the public and private sector category. Delivered by the Institute of Community Cohesion (iCoCo), the ABCs reward grassroots, community and voluntary organisations for local schemes and projects which promote intercultural dialogue and understanding.

What is a ‘Living Book’?
Most likely a majority of readers will find that Living Books are people just like you and me. But for different reasons they are subjected to stereotyping and prejudices. They are open about who they are and prepared to share their experiences. A Living Book is a person that has chosen to be a public representative of a certain group. An example of how people can be, if only minds are open long enough to find out, who and what they really are. But before anything else, they are courageous people that stand by their convictions and are willing to discuss their values with others.

One of the great features of the Living Library and taking out a book, is that ‘readers’ can ask as many questions as they want. Books have been prepared and made themselves available, in order for readers to be able to dig deep and find out what they always wanted to know about the Book title.

In the history of the Living Library, all Books have been volunteers. They all have commitment and value. They all agree to being lent out for hours on end, to talk with complete strangers about important and sometimes very personal issues. It shows great character and demands respect and admiration. All our Books at the Edinburgh Living Libraries event had a way of life or a viewpoint that represented a different perspective: they had a fascinating life experience, or did an unusual job, or had different beliefs from others. It’s that difference which is celebrated and explored as part of the project.

Our ‘Books’
In recruiting our ‘Books’ for the Edinburgh launch we started by approaching a range of individuals who as representatives of various communities in the city were known to us as library users. This created a snowball effect as we soon discovered that the event had generated a lot of interest via word of mouth. We were soon approached by a number of others keen to take part!

We looked for three essential qualities in our volunteers. Firstly, they were representative of the community, secondly, their life story made for interesting listening, and thirdly, they had an ability to interact and communicate positively with members of the public, and felt confident in leading the conversation if the ‘borrower’ seemed uncertain of how to proceed. In preparation we had supplied our Books with a set of guidelines prior to the event which gave them some handy hints to get the dialogue going.

For instance, one favourite starter question was, “Why did you borrow me?” which was a really good icebreaker. In practice none of our volunteers or our borrowers appeared to find any difficulty in carrying out a conversation, and indeed embraced the whole concept enthusiastically once it was explained to them.

It was important to clarify with the volunteers beforehand that they were speaking to their borrowers from a personal angle and were not necessarily representing an official viewpoint. Thus for the policeman the focus was very much on how he felt about his work as a person, not an opportunity for the public to comment on the quality of policing in the city. To help with this we suggested he come along in casual clothes. We had also reassured the Books that if at any point they became uncomfortable with the line of questioning, they could terminate the conversation straight away. Fortunately this did not prove to be necessary.

Some of our Books asked if they could bring leaflets and handouts to give away to the public giving more information about their beliefs or about the organisation to which they belonged. We didn’t have a problem with this, as long as a clear line was drawn between personal experience and propaganda. However in the case of some volunteers who were also members of Alcoholics Anonymous it was agreed that some of their borrowers might potentially be in need of professional advice or referral themselves, so in that case it was entirely appropriate that they be provided with the relevant contact details.

At the Edinburgh event we had an exciting range of people lined up for the Living Library stall. These were: Policeman Blogger; Poet; Polish speaker; Quaker; Chinese speakers; War veteran; A Goth; Recovering alcoholic; Blind person; Sikh; and Muslim.

We recorded 45 half-hour official ‘Loan’ sessions in the course of the day although this does not give the full picture as some of these were group Loans, including families with children of different ages and university students. We also found that the Books were talking to each other and finding more out about each other and their experiences of the event. It was an opportunity for networking at all levels with a great amount of interest from other agencies and partners at the Fair.

Feedback
We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both Books and borrowers:
“Such a fantastic idea and a wonderful way of passing on knowledge and information” Borrower
“Great to hear from someone I would not usually meet” Borrower
“Prompts me to find out more” Borrower
“These resources are unique. Brilliant idea!” Borrower
“Showed me how people’s perceptions could be changed” Book
Dany Abergel, Board member of Living Library Network (Global), also came to the Edinburgh Fair and said that he “…wanted to thank you for the event in Edinburgh, which I thought was a success and sparked loads of interest.”

This initiative has a lot of positive potential for Edinburgh and for Scotland as a whole in the way that it:

• Supports the building of vibrant communities by encouraging community participation
• Helps minimise social exclusion
• Reaches out to individuals by offering opportunities for personal and social development
• Supports the development of culture within the community
• Provides the public with an opportunity to explore their community heritage in a new, face-to-face basis
• Opens up opportunities for libraries to work in partnership with a number of external organisations and individuals

Given the success of the initial event, we will certainly be encouraged to repeat the event in local libraries in Edinburgh in the near future. 

The event would not have been the success it was without the support of colleagues from Edinburgh Libraries, UK Living Library organisers and, last but most definitely not least, our committed and enthusiastic volunteers.

Ewan McCormick is Team Leader, McDonald Road Library, Edinburgh ewan.mccormick@edinburgh.gov.uk
Linda Constable is UK Living Library Representative and Local Level, Associate Consultant linda@lindaconstable.com

Information Scotland Vol. 6(6) December 2008

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