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Beaverton City Library will be holding a Human Library event on January 26, 2020. We need human books! Maybe you or someone you know would be interested in participating.

What is a Human Library? The Human Library is a library of people. It began in Copenhagen in 2000. Hosted all over the world, these events are where readers can borrow human beings who serve as open books, and have conversations they would not normally have access to. Every human book represents a group in our community that is often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination because of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin, etc. The Human Library is a place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated, and hopefully answered by the human book on loan. This will be the first of hopefully many Human Library events at Beaverton City Library.

What is a Human Book? A human book is a person who has volunteered to share their experience of prejudice and/or discrimination through a conversation with members of the public, or 'readers.’ The idea is to humanize difficult topics through facilitated conversations. Our hope is that the reader will leave the experience with greater insight and understanding, maybe even learning to unjudge someone.

How does this work? We will host the Human Library event in the meeting rooms at Beaverton City Library Main. Readers will be able to have respectful conversations with human books in a safe, supervised space. As an example, a police officer would talk about stereotypes and prejudices that police officers meet in their job and answer any questions the reader may have about this topic. Conversations will be between 20 and 30 minutes.

How would we make sure books are safe at the Human Library? Safety is an understandable priority. We will work closely with the books to ensure they are comfortable before, during and after the event. We will also hold readers accountable and will do our best to make sure that readers have no ill will towards our books. If we are in doubt, we will not give out a book and/or we will not allow the reader to participate. Also, books will not need to answer questions that are too uncomfortable to answer. We will provide human books training on how to redirect readers.

What do we need? Human books! Our human books are volunteers with personal experience with their topic. Do you defy a stereotype? Have you experienced prejudice due to issues such as race, sex, age, disability, sexual preference, gender identity, class, religion/belief, lifestyle or other aspects of who you are? Are you interested in helping challenge stereotypes? Then you could be a human book!

To apply, copy/paste application below and send completed application as soon as possible to Jennifer Johnson (jjohnson@beavertonoregon.gov). If your friend or family member would make a great book, please forward this message to them. This is an amazing opportunity for our community - we hope you’ll consider being a part of it!

Beaverton City Library | Human Library Application

Do you defy a stereotype? Are you like an open book and do you have valuable experiences that readers could benefit from learning about? Are you motivated to help challenge stigma and stereotypes through dialogue and personal conversations? Then we may want to publish you to our readers!

Please complete this application and send to Jennifer Johnson at jjohnson@BeavertonOregon.gov or Beaverton City Library, 12375 SW 5 th St, Beaverton, OR 97005. Applications are due ASAP - hard deadline is December 3, 2019.

Your name: (required) _______________________________________________________________

Your email: (required) _______________________________________________________________

Your address: (required) _____________________________________________________________

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Why would you like to become a human book for us? (required)_______________________

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What title would you select for yourself? ______________________________________________

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What qualities do you have that would make you a good human book? _______________

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Please provide us with examples of prejudices and stereotypes you have faced or experienced in your life. ____________________________________________________________

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What would you like to share with your readers? ______________________________________

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Have you ever participated in a Human Library event as a reader? Yes No

Have you been published in a Human Library event before? Yes No

Books will need to attend one training session. Are you available for a training session on:

Sunday, January 12, 2020? Yes No

Tuesday, January 14, 2020? Yes No

Our first Human Library event at Beaverton City Library is Sunday, January 26, 2020.

Are you available the afternoon of January 26? Yes No

Other comments or special needs in order to participate: _____________________________

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Thank you for applying to be part of the Human Library at Beaverton City Library.