Amnesty Against Extremism in Slovakia

The living library is a wonderful tool for tearing down prejudice. The main stars are always the books, i.e. people who talk about their life. But what about the people who organise libraries? What is their perspective?

It usually starts with an email with the subject "Living Library". A teacher, for example from Košice, Poprad, Jarovnice or Turcianske Teplice might have sent it. Basically, it might have come from any part of Slovakia. Then, an exchange of basic information follows, reaching an agreement on time and all the details you can imagine. 

The school or organisation has usually some preferences about the books they want to have in the library. We try to take their wishes into account when approaching books. Sometimes we have to patiently explain that living books are not stored on shelves and sometimes we just cannot choose the one required. The most stressing period follows. Will we get all the books? Will they answer our email? Pick up the phone? Will they be available? It's best to have at least two weeks time for finding books. It's also important because books often need to take days off from work or school due to the event. Even though both the working and studying books are glad to come, it needs to be said that the studying books are more enthusiastic to skip the school. Who knows why...

When we have answers and commitment from all the books, the most stressful part follows. Waiting. What if something gets into their schedule? What if they get sick? What if they forget? Rarely the book's plans change at the last moment. And we find out only in the evening before the library. In such cases we apply breathing techniques and counting to ten. Of course, we can be angry only with the fate.

Then the D day follows. Or more precisely, the L day, the Library day. Anxiously, we get to the school, library or other place suitable for the library. This is without doubt the most stressful part. Will the people like it? Won't they get bored? But we dispel these fears very quickly. The course of the library itself is mostly very relaxing. Because we can see live how the prejudices and stereotypes are getting destroyed and the attitudes are being changed. We see how young people are finding out that people are in the first place humans and cannot be judged just because of their different skin colour, religion, sexual identity and such. We are rewarded when people tell us during the reflection after the library that it really worked, that they have changed their opinions. Another reward is seeing the books smile when they tell us what messages they got from students. All the stress is gone and we just enjoy lunch together in the school canteen or at a restaurant with the feeling that we were able to change the world for better at least a tiny bit.