The University of Central Arkansas will host the Human Library in Torreyson Library on the UCA campus on Tuesday, April 9 from 1:40-4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The Human Library, a worldwide project that originated in Copenhagen in 2000, is designed to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. People volunteering as “human books” will be available for individual, 20-minute conversations with participants interested in learning more about their stories. More than 50 UCA students, faculty, staff and community members have volunteered to talk about their unique experiences, from holding public office and immigrating to surviving an eating disorder and more.
“The Human Library experience affords us rich opportunities to learn about the lived experiences of individuals in our community with whom we may have little to no interaction,” said Dr. Angela Webster, associate vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion. “We hope the campus will seize this chance to feed their curiosity.”
“The Torreyson Library faculty and staff are excited to host the first Human Library event at the University of Central Arkansas,” said Dean Covington, director of the library. “The Human Library provides an innovative opportunity to help all of us better understand the challenges that are faced by many people in our society. Please come with a mind open to appreciating human diversity.”
UCA’s event was inspired by a previous Human Library event held at the Faulkner County Library and is an initiative of the Conway Conversations series in partnership with the UCA Library. The organizing committee issued a campuswide call for volunteers and allowed participating “books” to choose their own topics and titles.
To learn more about the event and to RSVP, visit https://uca.libguides.com/HumanLibrary or contact Hannah Hanshaw at hhanshaw1@uca.edu or (501) 450-5220.
