Living Library Project: Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover
Originally presented July 22, 2009.
The Living Library is a unique event that brings together people who have special interests, beliefs or experiences to speak with people from different backgrounds and share their personal story. In this innovative program participants can "check out" Living Books for a personal conversation. Both the Bainbridge Island and Santa Monica Public Libraries executed two successful Living Library events. The Bainbridge Island event covered such diverse experiences as life as a quadriplegic, a female police officer, a young gay man and an atheist. Santa Monica Public Library’s Living Books included a fat activist, a formerly homeless person, an ex-gangmember and a nudist. Presenters for this webinar are leads from these projects: Rebecca Judd from the Bainbridge Island (WA) branch of the Kitsap Regional Library System, and Julie MacDonald and Rachel Foyt from the Santa Monica Public Library in Santa Monica (CA). Hear how they planned and implemented the project in their libraries, and find out how you can create a Living Library in your community.
Archive viewing options:
- View the slides (pdf)
- View Chat log (xls)
Learn more on this topic:
- InfoSpeak interview with Ulla Brohed as she discusses the Malmö Living Library in Sweden
- Living Library documents from the Bainbridge Island Library
- Living Library documents from the Santa Monica Public Library
- Living Library documents from the Olympia Timberland Library
- Living Library website: living-library.org/
- Press Coverage:
- Library Journal article: “Living Library” Debuts in Santa Monica
- Seattle PI article about Bainbridge Island Library: At this library, you can check out a person instead
- MSNBC article: Quiet, please! The library is talking to you
- Bainbridge Island Kitsap Sun article
- CBC News video (good intro to Living Library)
- Book Review from Los Angeles Times
- CQ Politics online
- USA Today (AP!)
- See also: Public Library Programming for Adults
