Stony Brook University hosted its second Human Library event at the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
Chris Kretz, an associate librarian and the head of Academic Engagement, Research and Learning, explained the idea behind the event is to talk to human “books.” Each person represents a book and they talk about their personal stories of prejudice and stereotypes they have overcome.
“We talk to different programs and try to get a diverse group of people that are willing to talk about their lives … You [don’t] want people talking about just one type of discrimination,” Kretz said.
He shared that the planning for the event began in June of this year and that a committee was created by the host organizations, including Stony Brook University Libraries, to coordinate it.
The Central Reading Room in the library was reserved for the event. It was broken between two time frames: 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Each conversation about a “book” lasted between 30 to 45 minutes.
When attendees walked in, a table was set up with a screen that showed the different stories available and they would let the staff know which “book” they’d like to “read.” The participants varied with University faculty, staff and students sharing parts of their lives. Participants included cancer survivors, Marine Corps veterans, individuals diagnosed with alopecia and a survivor of gun violence.
There were a total of 16 different tables and each table had one “book” with three seats for attendees to sit and hear their story. Attendees were given a sheet to keep track of the “books” they read that featured example questions they could ask.
Joessie Mathews, a culture and engagement coordinator for the University’s Human Resources Department, told her story of dealing with dyslexia. Mathews grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and attended a school with limited funding and resources to help her disability.
“[My school] didn’t have proper funding … me being aware that I had this learning issue, and then nobody really helped me with it, I felt like I became a product of my environment,” Mathews said.
She decided to participate in this event because she saw it as an opportunity to break stereotypes surrounding dyslexia.
“Because [dyslexia can be] unfamiliar to you and your development … I wanted to use one of my many [struggles] to be able to bring light to either someone who has been experiencing this or might know somebody and can see their perspective,” Mathews said.
Another one of the “books” focused on the experiences of a cancer survivor. Raquel Lynn, a cataloging and metadata technician for Stony Brook University Libraries, opened up about surviving thyroid cancer at a young age.
Lynn decided to become a “book” at last year’s Human Library because she was interested in hearing other people’s stories. She shared that the feedback from last year encouraged her to participate again.
“I told my story, and I figured that would be it,” Lynn said. She was surprised how many people were inspired by what she said.
Lynn was diagnosed at 20 years old with thyroid cancer and had a surgical procedure that led to removing half of her thyroid. She shared that she has taken levothyroxine , a synthetic hormone medication known also by the brand name of Synthroid, every day for the last 30 years of her life.
When Lynn was in college, she wanted to work as foreign service officer but was unable to pursue that aspiration because of her medical condition. However, she later realized that it is not something she would have enjoyed as a career and her cancer helped steer her in a different direction that was meant for her.
Darren Chin, a freshman majoring in computer science, “read” Lynn’s “book” and found it to be moving, leading him to reflect on his outlook on life.
“It gave me a different outlook on life [and] how we shouldn’t take things for granted and be grateful for what we currently have because there’s some people that have had to make major lifestyle changes to respond to these [struggles] that we don’t really have to think about,” Chin said.
