Okotoks librarians are shelving their reading material and encouraging patrons to engage in human books for a day. More than six people will serve as human books, discussing topics ranging from mental illness to serving in the military, in the Okotoks Public Library’s Human Library Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The idea of allowing the public to schedule time to talk to an expert or someone with experience in specific areas during Canadian Library Month is one the library staff have been considering for years, said Paula Benson, adult services manager. “I approached people I knew who had interesting backgrounds and asked them to participate,” Benson said. “It’s meant to educate residents that there are differences in the community and to break down stereotypes.” To qualify as a Human Library through the Human Library Organization, a world-wide movement for social change, the Okotoks Public Library required different categories for its library ranging from family relations to social status. On Saturday, people can talk to a former soldier in the South African Army, a traffic accident analyst with the Calgary Police Service, a single mom who travelled the world, a woman who suffers from mental illness, a man who lived in 27 countries and a collector. “It’s meant to be a one-on-one conversation with the person,” Benson said. “It will engage the community a slightly different way than we have in the past. This is another form to borrowing a book – a book that talks to you in real time and the conversation is organic.” Benson said talking with someone face-to-face gives a different perspective of the issue they’re curious about. “It could inspire others to share their own stories if, say, they’re experiencing something similar,” she said. “They might want to come next year and be a human book or might know a friend or family member in the community that could be a human book or they might treat someone whose had one of these experiences differently.” Among those signing on as a human book is Okotokian Joanna Cameron, who said she’s been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, complex post-traumatic stress disorder and fibromyalgia. “All of these disorders are invisible,” she said. “You don’t necessarily know a person has them by looking at them. There’s often a lot of misconceptions about all of them.” The Human Library is an opportunity for Cameron to offer education or encouragement to people, whether it’s a family member of someone with the same conditions or someone who is just curious. “I really think that personal experience is the best way for somebody to get a view of what it’s actually like,” she said. “You read stuff and hear stuff and of course people form their own opinion on things. “It’s a really good way for somebody to hear about an illness because people can ask questions. I don’t claim to have all the answers but I’m happy to share the answers that I do have.” Cameron said she’s at a place where she can talk about her conditions. “I’ve gone through a whole lot of healing – I’ve been peeling the layers off,” she said. “I see these things as, yes, I have these illnesses, but I’m in a really good place mentally. I really feel it’s important to be open and vulnerable so people can connect and learn and have any kind of conversation they want to have around it.” Anyone interested in checking out the Human Library can schedule 20 to 30-minute time slots with the human books of their choice at okotokspubliclibrary.ca
