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| 07/10/2009 |
INNOVATIVE LIVING LIBRARY EVENT TO BE HELD IN CREWE |
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PUBLIC sector union UNISON is staging one of a series of innovative "Living Library" events in Crewe to try and improve community cohesion in the town and wider region.
Instead of checking out a normal book, people will be able to "borrow" a trade union member who has their own unique story to tell.
UNISON's library event takes place at Crewe Library, on Monday 12 October 2009 from 2pm to 7pm.
Amongst the 'living books' available will be a Jamaican man's experiences of building a life for himself in the UK, a woman's account of overcoming sexual harassment in the workplace, and a man's lifelong struggle with epilepsy.
Helen Titherington, Regional Education Co-ordinator for UNISON North West, said the project offers a novel way of improving community cohesion across the region. The union has built up its own catalogue of members from the public sector to be books with stories and backgrounds that are designed to challenge prejudice and stereotypical views.
The public can choose from a catalogue of twelve books, sit and listen to their stories in small groups or on a one on one basis and then ask questions for up to twenty minutes.
The Living Libraries idea came from Denmark in the year 2000 and has been praised as a great way of getting people with different backgrounds to talk to each other and gain a different perspective on life.
Ms Titherington who is running the project for Unison explained that "many people think that as a trade union we concern ourselves purely with workplace issues, but our diverse membership plays an important role in making our communities vibrant and tolerant places to live, and this series of events is a natural extension of that".
In addition to showing a different aspect of trade union work the events also hope to help in the effort to get more people to visit their local libraries and take advantage of the facilities on offer.
Jane Mathieson, Regional Reader Development Co-ordinator for Time to Read in the North West, which aims to attract more people into our libraries, applauded the idea. She said: "Public Library staff in the North West have been thrilled at the reaction to these events in other libraries across the region. They have been so warmly received by members of the public. There are so many people with interesting stories to tell in our region and this has been a novel way of getting them out to readers."
Future Events
October
Wednesday 7th October Blackburn Central Library 2-7pm
Monday 12th October Crewe Library 2-7pm
Saturday 17th October Arena Point - Family Learning Festival
Thursday 29th October Congleton Library 2-7pm
Saturday 31st October Disabled Members Conference - Hilton Hotel - Blackpool
November
Wednesday 4th November The Poppy Club, Cheadle Hulme 2-4pm
Wednesday 11th November Kendal Library 2-6pm
Monday 16th November Withington Library 3-7pm
Thursday 19th November Prestwich Library 2-6pm
Saturday 21st November Working Class Movement Library 11am-3pm
Monday 23nd November Irlam of th' Heights Library 2-6pm
December
Thursday 3rd December - Blackpool Library Event 2-6pm
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CONTACT DETAILS
• To find out more about membership benefits contact our helpline, UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845. Lines are open 6am-midnight Mon to Fri and 9am-4pm Sat.
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