Human Library (HL) is a unique nonprofit event that aims to raise awareness and reduce prejudice towards stigmatized groups. It uses a pretend ‘library’ format where attendees called ‘Readers’ engage in face-to-face contact with individuals from stigmatized social groups known as ‘Books’. While HL has been widely used and recommended, limited empirical research exists on its effectiveness. Our study presented findings from four consecutive HL events in Turkey, showing that direct contact with ‘Books’ improved attitudes towards target groups. Overall, HL proves beneficial as a contact intervention, but its effectiveness may vary across different attitude dimensions.

Image courtesy of interviewee. December 18, 2023