CU Living Library: March 6 & 7

Norlin Library will host the CU Living Library: Continuing Community through Dialogue March 6 and 7, an interactive event featuring the stories of students, staff, faculty, and community members who will engage as with attendees or “readers” who want to “borrow” living books for impactful conversations covering topics such as mental health, gender, sexuality, race, and identity.

"This event is an opportunity for people to engage with one another around personal stories and journeys and listen with empathy, openness, and learning from the community,” said organizers Megan Welsh, Juleah Swanson and Lindsay Roberts. The organizers described their motivation in hosting the event, “As librarians, we know that the Western knowledge system is filled with bias and many people’s stories and identities aren’t being told through the scholarly publishing world. We hope this event provides an audience to hear counterstories, stories that are hidden, or marginalized. Valuing these stories challenges systems of power and our understanding of knowledge.”

Last year’s event empowered participants in recognizing the value of their personal stories and experiences and this year’s event is supported by the University Libraries and funded in part through an Implementation of Multicultural Perspectives and Approaches in Research and Teaching (IMPART) award from the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement.

Book titles include Powerlifting Femininity, the story of one woman’s journey into competitive powerlifting; From the Barrio to the Academy: The Building of a Resilient Chicana Scholar, the story of a Chicana, first generation college student who became a professor; and Static in the Feedback Loop, a story about one individual’s experiences with anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

The Living Library event is open to all students, staff, faculty and community members and will be held in the Norlin Library Commons, Wednesday, March 6, 3-5PM and Thursday March 7, 3:30-5:30PM