A human library


People sit and talk in a library.
Photograph by Tim Matheson for The Province

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun and The Province

Level 1

A library is a place.
It has books, music, movies and other things.
Many towns and cities have libraries.
People go there to read books and newspapers.
People enjoy reading at the library.
A library is a quiet place for reading.

Read the PDF.

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Library cards
Many people get library cards. The cards are free.
With a library card, people can borrow things.
They can take these things home. They return them later.

What is a human library?
Surrey, B.C., has a human library.
People can borrow a person.
Then they can talk to that person.
Surrey has many different kinds of people.
Surrey wants people to meet each other.
Surrey wants people to understand each other.

How the human library works
Anyone can be a human book.
Anyone can go to the library and volunteer.
Some volunteers talk about their lives.
Some volunteers talk about their illnesses.
Some talk about their jobs.
One woman talks about her religion.
One man was a soldier.
Another person talks about painting.
Volunteers come from many different cultures.
For 30 minutes, you can hear someone’s story.
You can listen. You can ask questions.
You can learn. You can open your mind.
You can change your beliefs about different people.

Human libraries started 10 years ago in Denmark.
Now there are human libraries everywhere.
People enjoy human libraries.

Did you know?
January 26 is now called National Human Library Day.
In Canada, 24 libraries opened a human library on this day.

Maybe you have a story.
Maybe you want to be a human book.