On Thursday, November 7, between 11 - 4 p.m., on the Jazzman Café patio, LMU hosted its second annual Human Library, as a part of an international movement designed to promote dialogue, reduce prejudices, and encourage understandings, simply through the art of one-on-one conversation.

How does a Human Library work?

Just like a regular library! A Reader borrows a Book for a limited period of time. Usually, the Reader is interested in the stories they might find within a particular Book. After borrowing the Book, the Reader returns it to the Library, and if they like, they may check out another Book. But there is one significant difference. The Books in the Human Library are human beings, and each Book and Reader has the opportunity to engage in unique, individual dialogue about the human experience.

Who are the Books?

As a part of the Bellarmine Forum, the Books available to check out on November 7 reflected a spectrum of the human experience related to various aspects of restorative justice. The LMU Human Library was organized by by the William H. Hannon Library, the 2013 Bellarmine Forum, and Ignatians Service Org.