Living Library

Folks in Europe seem to have found a unique and successful way to begin collapsing walls between people. It is called the Living Library.

You can "check out" a Muslim, homosexual, drug addict, Christian, political activist or other group against whom you have a prejudice but no real contact. It is your opportunity to ask questions, get answers and perhaps come to a new understanding, all in 20 minutes. The human volunteers can end the conversation at any time if the conversation or behavior is in any way offensive or abusive.

The first one was held in 2001 at FDenmark's annual Roskilde Festival. The huge open-air festival features concerts by artists from many genres and attracts upwards of 40,000 people every year. The event is one of Northern Europe's most well-known concert venues and the site of much political advocacy. At Roskilde, people who behaved abusively toward the Living Library volunteers were thrown out of the festival.

The idea is spreading. Besides the COpenhagen area, Living Libraries have also been instituted in the southern Swedish city of Lund, in the town of Almelo, the Netherlands and in Budapest, Hungary. The Council of Europe has published a pamphlet of guidelines for organizations eager to take the project to their own areas. This pamphlet is available in several languages, including English.

I wonder when groups will begin to have Living Libraries in major US cities?