The Human Library at PVCC

Liberty Anderson, staff writer

On Monday, Sept. 24, from 5-7 p.m. students, faculty and staff could come to the Betty Sue Jessup Library and check out a person, just like you would a book, for 20 minutes. This is the first semester PVCC has had a Human Library. The goal is to further understand each other as peers and human beings, says Associate Professor of Psychology Michael Rahilly.

The Human Library gives people an opportunity to tell their story, but more importantly it gives us a chance to listen. The event features  eight different stories; international student, learning discipline, partial amputee, family repeal, alternate perspective, waiver, child laborer, and disillusioned. Hearing these stories helps people gain insight into others and what others have been through.

One story was about a man who has been helping his parents on job sites since he was four years old. To this day, while attending college, he helps his parents in anyway he can. By sharing his story, he helps people to not take the little things for granted. He said no matter how bad it is someone has it worse than you.

One story comes from an international student from Venezuela. She talks about how difficult it was for her to get here and how her parents are trying to sell their company in order to move here. Another is about a woman’s experience with a service dog training facility. She experienced many things, was mistreated, and bribed among many other things, because she refused to follow the instructions that she knew were wrong.

PVCC’s resident books believed the event was a good experience. The Human Library created the opportunity to share a life changing experience, without having to tell a life story. They all agreed that it was nice to share their story knowing that someone wanted to listen.