On Nov. 6-8, the North Battleford Public Library offered patrons a different selection of items to check out, apart from the regular books and DVDs: human books.
The library hosted an event called the Human Library on three different days. The human library is an idea that has been tried in numerous libraries across the world. Library patrons “sign out” those who were invited to speak, and talk with the speakers as if they were “human books.”
Head librarian Richard Bee said the human library was “a chance for people to speak with others that they might not normally get a chance to.”
The “human books” at the North Battleford event were Byron Rodriguez, Darren Roberts, Joan Bunce and Gil Bellavance. Since the event took place close to Nov. 11, Bee said he tried to incorporate Remembrance Day when selecting speakers. Rodriguez, Roberts and Bellavance are veterans, while Bunce was a guest child during WWII.
Bee said the “event turned out very well,” even though there were some growing pains, such as patrons not quite understanding the event.
Members of the public who wanted to attend needed to register, and were given some information regarding what the speakers would be talking about. Sixteen people attended, and Bee said feedback was mostly positive. Bee said the library will look into hosting the event again.
