When I first read the title of today’s Library Link of the Day, from The Times Online — “The new library fad: borrow a person” — I assumed it was a clever way to structure knowledge sharing sessions. Want to learn to set up an email account or knit a scarf? Borrow one of the library’s handy how-to “books”!
But this is actually cooler. The “books” on loan are real people with oft-stereotyped labels: Muslim, Immigrant, Police Officer, Gay Man (the author of the article), and the undisputed bestseller, Ex-Gang Member. The “book” and borrower go into a room for 30 minutes and talk about whatever the borrower wants to talk about, as an exercise in cross-cultural understanding.
There’s a danger, of course, that borrowers will overgeneralize their experience with one Muslim “book” to all Muslims. But overall, it sounds like a lovely idea — especially if it’s more of a conversation than a one-directional interview. Public librarians, see if you can get this started where you work!
(I have no clue why this is in the Women section of Times Online, though. Because cross-cultural understanding is for sissies and women? Because chicks dig libraries?)
8 responses so far ↓
1 jfpbookworm // Apr 28, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I have no clue why this is in the Women section of Times Online, though. Because cross-cultural understanding is for sissies and women? Because chicks dig libraries?
I think this may be part of the reason why.
2 michelle // Apr 28, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I have to say, that sounds really interesting. I would love to have the chance to sit down with different people with carte blanche to ask them whatever I wanted. You know, because sometime you are just too embarrassing ask friends questions, but if you were given the green light to ask whatever you were interested in, that would be so awesome.
3 Lance // Apr 28, 2008 at 3:30 pm
If I want to borrow, like, “Surfer Dude” or “Midwestern Farmer”, can I go through interlibrary-loan?
4 Sam // Apr 28, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Future Libratorr Bookworm:
Sure, but the article wasn’t even about librarians. Meh, silly Times Online.
Michelle:
Exactly! And many of us mostly have friends who are like us — we have lots of opportunities to talk to Gay Man and PhD Candidate, but not so much for Wal-Mart Clerk or… Bush Voter.
Lance:
That’s actually a really good question. Video chat!
5 Jessie // Apr 28, 2008 at 5:58 pm
It’s interesting - I think even in a setting like that I’d be too embarassed/ashamed to ask what I really wanted to ask. But I still think it’s a cool idea.
6 siggy // May 4, 2008 at 11:32 am
I am going to make the living library idea part of my 11th graders’ work with Realism. They have to be books and check each other out in the way that high schoolers rarely check each other out.
7 Sam // May 4, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Siggy — That’s awesome! Tell me how it goes.
8 » “Meet a Black Guy” (and an Iraqi) Parenthetical.net: Musings and snark about YA lit, libraries, and geekdom, from an overly opinionated middle school librarian. // Jun 13, 2008 at 9:48 am
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