Japanese readers excited about the Human Library

This morning the Human Library opened for the first time in Japan. The event is organized as part of the ATAC conference in Kyoto, held at the famous International Conference Center, where the Human Library will be open for two days. The Japanese Human Library organizers are very well prepared and have assembled a strong team of volunteer librarians to service the many readers lining up two hours before the opening to sign up for books. Bookings are handled through a PC so that a screen placed on the Human Library counter informs readers which books are available at different times, a little technical innovation from the hosts of the event.

Presentation at the conference.

Human Library founder, Ronni Abergel, made a presentation for the 700 participants in attendance as part of the opening session for the ATAC conference."The introduction of the Human Library in Japan and the reception by readers show that the concept can be adapted into different cultures and still retain its purpose and methodology, more over it shows that the Human Library has a role and place in the global community", says Ronni Abergel.The event continues Sunday and will be followed by a Human Library in Tokyo on January 14th, set in a local High School.

Books sold out at noon.

Reader sessions have been organized so that the conference participants use the half hour breaks to take out their living book. The books sold out by noon and lots of interested readers had to sign up for Sundays program to be sure to get the literature they want. The theme of the Kyoto event is "Understanding Diversity" and as such the books available represent exactly that. Here you can find the homeless book, the ex-drug abuser, the transgender and the physically disabled. If they dont sound tempting, then try the session with the blind book and you are sure to be amazed.

Different settings helps develop the methodology.

Some may wonder why the Japanese events are not taking place in a public library. But this is part of the mission of the Human Library organization, to keep developing and testing the methodology in new settings in order to learn more about the different application possibilities.

TV documentary to premier on Japanese national televison tonight.

The timing for this event could not have been better. Tonight the NHK - national Japanese televison will air the documentary program about the Human Library on NHK BS2 at 18:10, local time. The program was recorded in September and October in Finland and Denmark.

Click here for more information on the Human Library in Kyoto

Click here to visit the Human Library Japan website

Click here to see more pictures from the Kyoto Human Library event