7 The Living Library in social work education
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Robin Sen
Abstract
A Human Library or Living Library is a metaphorical version of an actual library where, in place of actual books, Living Books, people with experience using social work services, directly or as carers to those receiving services, narrate a chapter from their experiences to a small group of social work student ‘readers’. Two approaches are presented from two universities, one from the United Kingdom and the other from Finland. In the University of Sheffield (UK), people with experiences of social work services, teachers and students have developed living libraries as a regular feature of the syllabus for a qualifying master’s degree programme in social work since 2014. In the Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (Diak, Finland), bachelor-level students in social services initiated and organised a Human Library event as part of their project studies. In this article, the terms Living Library and Human Library are used interchangeably.
The Human Library method has been employed globally as an anti-oppressive tool to bring together representatives of different minorities in society who volunteer to share their life stories and experiences in order to help others overcome prejudice using active dialogue based on respect (Pardasani and Rivera, 2017). The development of the Human Library has offered a new way of bringing the experience of people who have used social work services into the classroom. According to the Council of Europe web pages (Council of Europe, n.d.), ‘the first ever living library (Menneske Biblioteket in Danish) was organised in Denmark in 2000 at the Roskilde Festival. The original idea had been developed by a Danish youth NGO called “Stop the Violence” (Foreningen Stop Volden) as part of the activities they offered to festival goers’ (Human Library, n.d.).
Abstract
A Human Library or Living Library is a metaphorical version of an actual library where, in place of actual books, Living Books, people with experience using social work services, directly or as carers to those receiving services, narrate a chapter from their experiences to a small group of social work student ‘readers’. Two approaches are presented from two universities, one from the United Kingdom and the other from Finland. In the University of Sheffield (UK), people with experiences of social work services, teachers and students have developed living libraries as a regular feature of the syllabus for a qualifying master’s degree programme in social work since 2014. In the Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (Diak, Finland), bachelor-level students in social services initiated and organised a Human Library event as part of their project studies. In this article, the terms Living Library and Human Library are used interchangeably.
The Human Library method has been employed globally as an anti-oppressive tool to bring together representatives of different minorities in society who volunteer to share their life stories and experiences in order to help others overcome prejudice using active dialogue based on respect (Pardasani and Rivera, 2017). The development of the Human Library has offered a new way of bringing the experience of people who have used social work services into the classroom. According to the Council of Europe web pages (Council of Europe, n.d.), ‘the first ever living library (Menneske Biblioteket in Danish) was organised in Denmark in 2000 at the Roskilde Festival. The original idea had been developed by a Danish youth NGO called “Stop the Violence” (Foreningen Stop Volden) as part of the activities they offered to festival goers’ (Human Library, n.d.).
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
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Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
-
Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
