Lecture Notes on Library Advocacy, Exhibition Spaces in Libraries, and Human Libraries

Part II: Takeaways from PLAI 2018:“Connected Actions, Collective Vision: Libraries Transforming Society”

1. Lecture Title: “Your Voice Counts: Libraries for Supporting Community Advocacy”

- Bibliotherapy – one way to support the community
 Donate books for the waiting areas of hospitals, especially public hospitals
 Storytelling for hospital wards
 Support digital inclusion – provide free access to some literary materials for the less fortunate

2. Lecture Title: “Creating Experiences in Spaces: Exhibitions to Spark and Stoke Interest in the Visual, Auditory, and Print story of Filipinos”

- Speaker M. Bugnosen is the librarian at the Filipinas Heritage Library (Ayala Museum)
- Suggested Library Exhibits/Designs

 The Secret Life of Books – art exhibit on book binding/book making, demonstrations, lectures, workshops
 Revolutions Exhibit – uniforms of old soldiers
 Film exhibits – digital screens show different scenes/short movies
 Film screening
 Poetry reading
 Concerts – cello, local musicians, guitar/acoustic

3. Lecture Title: “Reading Beyond Books: Exploring Human Libraries”

- De La Salle University librarians and organizers recount their experiences with the “Human Library” project they set-up with the international organization The Human Library http://humanlibrary.org/
- Events in various countries are set up and listed at https://www.facebook.com/humanlibraryorg/
- Event application form is at http://humanlibrary.org/human-library-organizers-event-application-form/

- What is a human library?

 A person rather than a book is being “read” by another person
 Basically a Q&A, monitored by a marshall who ensures the human book’s safety and security
 The library is transformed into a safe place for discussion and “reading”
 The goal is to un-judge someone
 There may be more than one book available per session, depending on the availability of marshalls and organizers

- Who qualifies as a human book?

 Someone who is a victim of unfair judgment, who might have been misunderstood by society, who wants his/her voice to be heard

- Planning for the Human Library project:
 Come up with project description/rationale
 Target audience?
 Learning outcome?
 Budget? Source of funds?
 Project flow?
 Collaborating agencies
 Limitations? How ‘free’ is free speech?
 Should there be pre-determined “chapters” that the book can talk about?

10 Occult Books That Can Be Classified Under LCC G

If you hear the word “occult,” you might imagine dark rooms, candles, and someone whispering Latin badly. But in library science, the occult often sits quietly under LCC Class G — the section for Geography, Anthropology, and Folklore . Why? Because many occult works deal with myth, symbolism, ritual, cultural belief systems, and human attempts to understand the unseen. In other words, they are less about flying broomsticks and more about how people make meaning. Here are ten notable occult books that can reasonably fall under LCC G , especially within folklore (GR), customs (GT), or cultural anthropology. 1. The Golden Bough – James George Frazer Frazer’s massive comparative study of myth and religion explores magic, ritual sacrifice, fertility rites, and sacred kings. It is not a spell book. It is anthropology with a dramatic flair. Why LCC G? Because it analyzes myth and ritual across cultures. This comfortably sits in folklore and anthropology (GR). 2. The Hero with a Thousand Face...

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So This Is What 14 Degrees Looks Like The very first thing I saw of Hanoi was not a building. Not a landmark. Not even a proper tree. It was fog. From the plane window, the land below looked like a watercolor painting someone had forgotten to finish. The trees were faint shapes, like shy ghosts standing politely in line. It was late January. The captain announced it was 14 degrees Celsius. So this is what 14 degrees looks like, I thought. It looks like a country half-asleep under a gray blanket. The Expectation That Quietly Packed Its Bags Before arriving, I carried a small, unflattering assumption in my suitcase: that Vietnamese people might not be especially warm or smiley. That assumption lasted about as long as the walk from immigration to baggage claim. People were kind. Not loud. Not overly expressive. Just… kind. The kind of kindness that responds to how you show up. If you are friendly, they are friendly. If you are respectful, they soften. It felt less like customer serv...

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