The Living Library was born in Copenhagen in 2000. It was started by 5 kids who, after one of them was stabbed during a night out, decided to do something “to raise awareness and use peer group education to mobilise danish youngsters against violence”.
There have been countless Living Library events in Europe since and in 2006 a permanent Living Library was established in Lismore, Australia, where on the first Friday of every month people can come and check out “living books”.
The premise:
“Borrow a person you normally would think you would not like. We have a wide selection of unpopular stereotypes. Everything from gays to hip hoppers to immigrants. Take a walk, have a talk or dont. Just remember to give back the person within two hours”.
Past Living Library events featured a “policeman sitting there speaking with the graffiti writer. The politician in discussions with the youth activist and the football fan in deep chat with the feminist”.
The first Living Library events in America are coming this fall. God knows we could use it.
Nina Simon has a great piece at Museum 2.0 on the potential applications of this model for museums.