Now, obviously, there’s more than a little hyperbole in that header — people-lending does not do everything that ethnography does, and there’s perhaps a danger of mistaking the particular for the general (à la sophomoric ‘My friend’s black and he’s opposed to affirmative action’ arguments). And, of course, there are geographical limitations, cross-cultural difficulties in self-representation (reading Virgil in the original Latin brings me no greater understanding of his work if I don’t understand Latin), &c. Still, I think there’s awesome potential in something like this: Instead of depending on the ethnographer or some other expert to explain why some queers want to marry, why the homeless can’t just get-a-job, why Muslim women accept a faith that appears to oppress them, instead of depending on one writer to humanise these people, they get to speak for themselves, and they get to present a human presence that writing and even film can never approach. I’d love to be able to follow this story further. (Credit where credit’s due: This story was posted to del.icio.us under the tag ‘anthropology‘ by JC Romero.)

Library that lets you take out people who are left on the shelf

By David Rennie in Brussels
(Filed: 25/08/2005)
The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/25/wdutch25.xml

A public library in Holland has been swamped with queries after unveiling plans to “lend out” living people, including homosexuals, drug addicts, asylum seekers, gipsies and the physically handicapped.

The volunteers will be borrowed by users of the library, in Almelo, who can take them to a cafeteria, and ask them any questions they like for up to an hour, in a scheme designed to break down barriers and combat prejudice.

The library’s director, Jan Krol, said yesterday he had been deluged with requests from prospective borrowers after his project was reported in the Dutch media.

Almelo, a prosperous town of 72,000 people in the Twente region of east Holland, is not known as a hotbed of Amsterdam-style liberalism.

The people-lending scheme was conceived as a local project, designed to encourage the solid burghers of Almelo to make contact with members of ethnic minorities and other marginalised members of society but caught the imagination of the Dutch press.

“It has caused a lot of interest, a lot of people have already called with questions like: do I need a library card?” said Mr Krol.

Borrowers of people will not need a card, he said, though one will remain necessary for more prosaic items, such as books. There will be no fines for returning people late, he added.

“Most meetings will last 45 minutes, we imagine. You can ask anything you like, but racist or strong language is not allowed. To avoid unpleasantness, all meetings must take place in the library café.”

Mr Krol, who said he was inspired by a similar scheme in Sweden, has already filled many of his volunteer slots, and hopes to launch the project next month.

He said: “I’ve got several gay men, a couple of lesbian women, a couple of Islamic volunteers, I’ve got a physically handicapped woman, and a woman who has been living on social security benefits for many years in real poverty. ”

Mr Krol said he was especially keen to find members of Holland’s small Roma gipsy community after a recent attack on two gipsy families in the city of Enschede.

Under the scheme, photographs and short biographies of the volunteers will appear in the library, and on its website. Library users who wish to take a person out can apply for an appointment. Mr Krol said he had not cleared the scheme with his municipal bosses.

“Oh, I never ask the council before I do anything,” he said. “And there are no costs at all, only two cups of coffee.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, 31 August 2005 at 10:46 and is filed under News Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.