The Early Years - The Human Library Organization

The Human Library Organization

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The Early Years

The Origin of the Human Library

The Human Library or “Menneskebiblioteket” as it is called in Danish, was developed in Copenhagen in the spring of 2000 as a project for Roskilde Festival by Ronni Abergel and his brother Dany and colleagues Asma Mouna and Christoffer Erichsen.

The original event was open eight hours a day for four days straight and featured over fifty different titles. The broad selection of books provided readers with ample choice to challenge their stereotypes and so they did. More than a thousand readers took advantage leaving books, librarians, organisers and readers stunned at the impact of the Human Library.

Crucial Partners In The Development

One of the creators, Ronni Abergel, realising the potential of the idea, decided after the first event, to begin to work to promote the idea to potential new organizers.

Since then he has founded the Human Library Organization, produced a guide to new organizers with the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Council of Europe. Travelled to many countries to help train new local organizers, plan launch events and present the idea to interested organizations and public authorities.

Today it is estimated that the Human Library has been presented in more than 80 countries around the world, most of them in partnership with local organizers.

Distribution

Despite a very positive response, the first years was a slow process. In 2008 the concept reaches USA and Canada, since then it has spread with ever-increasing pace. In 2018 the Human Library premiered in Kenya, Panama, and Botswana, to name a few. Today our concept exists in more than 85 countries worldwide, known as “Human Library Organization”. The Human Library is present in Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America, and Europe. The Concept and method are trademark registered in Denmark and many other countries, in order to preserve and protect The Human Library’s quality and uniqueness regardless of its global existence. The organization headquarter is located in Copenhagen, from where the global work is coordinated and cooperation agreements with local partners are being made and managed, most events are planned and held in cooperation with local organizers in the different countries.

In addition to the headquarter Copenhagen is also home to one of the four Danish book depots, the other three are in Esbjerg-Varde, Århus and Odense. A book depot is a gathering of volunteer books and librarians who frequently visits libraries, schools, high schools, festivals etc. A book depot often services a town or region.

Usage

The Human Library have found its usage in different areas of the civil society. In Denmark the platform is used as a part of the education of new social workers at the Institute of Social Work in Copenhagen.

In the United States medical students from Thomas Jefferson University also participate in a Human Library.

At a corporate level it’s about creating inclusive work environment, and increasing the employees ability to benefit from the great diversity that especially global companies are characterized by.

Therefore some of the biggest companies in the world collaborate with the Human Library. This includes companies like Daimler, Heineken, eBay, Microsoft, and Eli Lilly.