An attention-grabbing, new program meant to help destroy stereotypes and prejudices in Jasper is planned for the Robson Park Fair on Oct. 1. 

A “Human Library” will be set up at the park that will allow community members to take out a human “book” for 45 minutes to ask anything they want. The “books” are people who are commonly stereotyped against in the community. Janeen Keelan, clerk and adult events co-ordinator at the Jasper Library, said the event is an exercise in human rights. 

There are six “books” available for the upcoming event, including a mother of a child with autism, a transgendered male, a teenager, a roller derby girl, a Cree elder and an American living in Canada. 

Keelan is hoping to have some “dictionaries” on hand, or bilingual people who will allow people from all ethnicities and communities in Jasper to participate. 

The Human Library program started in Denmark, and has been held in other countries. This will be a first for Jasper. Keelan said the library is hoping to help people with prejudices to overcome them and get to know members of their community. 

“If you have a prejudice or stereotype, we’re hoping to remove that from your life,” she said. 

The “books” are prepared to answer any and all questions, and have been prepared that they may face some strange, “stupid” or uncomfortable questions. 

“Everybody’s prepared to answer hard questions,” Keelan said. 

A catalogue is being produced by the Jasper Library that will list the common stereotypes each “book” tends to experience to present to potential “readers”.

Keelan uses the teenager as an example, that people may think of as lazy or selfish. 

“Hopefully once they speak to the teenager, some of those myths will be dispelled,” she said. 

The program is not entirely for people who have prejudices, it can also just answer some questions people have about each particular book. For example, the mother of a child with autism may just be a great resource for current or expecting parents. 

“I think she’d be a good resource for people who have concerns about their own children,” Keelan said.

Tracking down “books” was a tough task, and Keelan used her connections with the community to get people involved.

“It’s been harder that I thought to get books,” she said. 

Mountain Park Lodges’ human resources department has helped out, along with the creative community, Community Outreach Services, the Habitat for the Arts and Hinton’s Bridges Society, which supports people with mental health issues. 

Keelan said the Human Library website has information on previous events, and they sometimes see no one for a while, but then get flooded with requests for books. 

“The response is varied,” she said. “Some of them have had no response for the first hour, and then it’s just readers, readers, readers.”

The program was made possible by the donation of a tent from the Jasper Folk and Blues Society, and will be in Robson Park during the fair on Oct. 1. Anyone interested in becoming a book or a dictionary, should contact the library at 852-3652, or email at jasperlibrary@town.jasper.ab.ca.