The new library fad: borrow a person - Times Online. From the article:
A new library allows readers to borrow people for a 30-minute chat. Here's the experience of one man who offered himself as a human book. The idea, which comes from Scandinavia, is simple: instead of books, readers can come to the library and borrow a person for a 30-minute chat. The human “books” on offer vary from event to event but always include a healthy cross-section of stereotypes. Last weekend, the small but richly diverse list included Police Officer, Vegan, Male Nanny and Lifelong Activist as well as Person with Mental Health Difficulties and Young Person Excluded from School.
More details from the Living Library website.
I've done this a couple of times; at a local punk/ska-festival and at a bookfair. It takes a lot of time in planning, but it's worth the effort. And really big fun! You get people to talk to other people in a new way!
Posted by: Peter Alsbjer | April 28, 2008 at 10:00 AM
How about extending the idea to the Internet. A recent article: How Social Networking Could Kill Web Search as We Know It http://www.lisnews.org/node/29841
Posted by: GSO | April 28, 2008 at 03:32 PM