We are looking for volunteers to join us in Switzerland!

This year, the Human Library is embarking on a journey to establish our presence in Switzerland, by building a first book depot that can help provide space for honest conversations on a regular basis. Meet our Head of Methodology, Katy Jon Went, and learn more about volunteering opportunities for potential Books and Librarians.

How would you explain the concept of a Book depot to someone who is not familiar with the Human Library methodology?

“A Human Library depot is a location, anywhere in the world, typically in a city of some size, sometimes a large town. It’s a place where we have a sufficiently large and diverse group of human Books across all the different categories that we publish, along with a number of Librarians. Together, they create a community of sufficient size to facilitate events in public spaces. For example, in public libraries, community centres, local art galleries, schools and universities, workplaces, festivals, prisons, and more. It’s a sustainable version of the Human Library, not reliant on a single volunteer, ensuring continuity and growth.”

How many Book depots does the Human Library currently have? 

“When you look at the Human Library around the world, we’ve been invited to publish our books in more than 80 countries which shows the global reach of our movement. However, it fluctuates slightly, especially coming out of COVID, as not every country reopened similarly.”

Why did the Human Library choose Zurich as the next location to establish a Book depot?

“When establishing the Book depot somewhere, it is usually because of someone approaching us, seeking partnership to create one. In Switzerland, we’ve had significant interest. Some of our Books have already existed there, and we’ve collaborated with various organizations. Additionally, individuals we’ve worked with in other countries have relocated to Switzerland, expanding our network.

In Zurich, we’ve established a presence, with local supporters and organizations inviting us to build the Human Library over the coming years. Our first event in Zurich was held last year under a circus tent. This event was part of the One Young World summit, where we facilitated conversations for the next generation of young leaders and entrepreneurs.”

Are you still looking for new Books in Switzerland?

“Absolutely! The Human Library thrives on its diverse content, and we aim to connect with individuals beyond our immediate circles to uncover a wide range of lived experiences. We’ve already enlisted a few volunteers to reach out to communities across Switzerland, seeking new Books. We’re also leveraging social media and encouraging word-of-mouth referrals, even random conversations at Zurich airport – yes, that happened.”

How are you personally preparing yourself for the process of establishing a depot in a new country?

“Well, for me personally, I’m having to resurrect my four years of German that I did like many, many decades ago. I’ve been doing 75 minutes of German practice every day.

I also visited Switzerland a couple of times now in the last year, three times, actually. I’ve realized the difference between Swiss German and other German dialects so now I’m trying to learn a few of the local greetings and things like that. 

But it’s also about learning that no culture, no language, is a monolithic group. That applies to the whole point of the Human Library anyway; trying to see people as individuals, not seeing countries as made up entirely of one stereotype. I got this Book that is full of recommendations on how to be Swiss, but is there only one way to be Swiss? Switzerland is a country with some of the widest and greatest variety of immigration, and not only does it have four main languages (that’s not including English, which is spoken by half the population as well) it has a wide variety of languages and international communities.”

Why is the Human Library valuable for Swiss society, when the diversity you are describing is already there?

“Well, bringing the Human Library there is a way to get all of these different groups to better understand each other, to foster good relations between them, to help them de-stereotype each other, to go beyond the idea of being Swiss, being an immigrant, being transgender, being bipolar, being autistic, to actually discover people’s individual journeys out there.”

If I am considering becoming a Book, and I’m from Switzerland, how do I know that I am the right candidate?

“We’re always looking for people to become Books. Becoming an open Book in the Human Library is not solely about what kind of experiences you have had. It can just be the fact that you are regularly misunderstood, that your life is in some way much harder and you have more hurdles to cross to participate in life fully like everyone else.

When applying to be a Book, we want to hear your story and understand why you think it would be helpful for others to meet and engage with you. And if your topic is one that we haven’t considered or had opportunity to publish before, we will expand our “bookshelf”, because our methodology is to learn from human beings. We’re not dictating who the Books are, but we’re learning from our Books who they are.

Also, you can become an open Book if you are the sister, brother, parent, child, or partner of someone who is a Book topic. And I call that “Book adjacent” in that sense. You could be the child of alcoholics, you could be the parent of a trans person, you could be the partner of someone who is depressed or something like that and it becomes about your experience and the impact of that relationship on you.”

When can the public expect the first Human Library events in Zürich?

“We started working on the depot in Zurich, mid-February this year. The first public event is anticipated to take place before the end of the year, possibly around late summer or early autumn. We’ve got our next workplace events happening already in May-June, albeit in Bern!

For the public events to happen, we need more Books (and Librarians). So, if you’re reading this article and you’re thinking, “I can’t wait for the Human Library to come to Switzerland,” well, you can help it come out in public and happen by venues offering to host the Human Library. We’ll be looking for public libraries or museums and art galleries, or community centers to host our events. And it’s primarily in and around Zurich, but we are open to doing events throughout Switzerland.”

What is the future vision you have for this new Swiss depot?

“Our future vision for any depot, but in particular this one, is for it to be self-sustaining and to have the secondary benefit that happens in the Human Library community. It’s never the primary purpose, but it always happens. Books end up supporting each other. Librarians and Books create friendships across groups and between groups that would never otherwise have necessarily come together. We often say in the Human Library that it’s not therapy. So don’t become a Book because you need therapy. However, being a Book can have a therapeutic effect. 

Furthermore, we ideally see this new depot standing on its own two feet within a couple of years, running monthly events in the big cities of Switzerland, but equally also going out to towns, schools, asylum centers, and also serving the business communities, the local government, the healthcare sector, education, prisons, etc.”