Pace University Associate Librarian Steven Feyl organized the second annual Human Library in Mortola Library on Wed., March 2. He wanted to reinvent the event based on the success from the previous year.

At the Human Library participants had the choice to choose from seven “books” and speak to the “author.” The catch is that participants did not actually read a book, but spoke to people who shared their life experiences as if they were telling a story.

Feyl said that he approached a variety of library regulars and faculty members about sharing their life stories. According to Feyl, the selection process was far from tedious because he did not receive a lot of submissions when choosing who would be the authors.

Feyl said the lack of submissions was a good thing because it allowed “normal people” to have the opportunity to share their stories that are made more interesting through new experiences every day.

The event was split into two sessions in which individuals had the opportunity to choose between seven books in the morning and six in the afternoon, all of which had different topics.

Participants decided on which book they wanted to check out by reading their description and choosing whatever one seemed most interesting to them.

Individuals went in blindsided to meet the “book” because the author’s name is not listed on the description. The ambiguity is on purpose; Feyl believes this allows individuals “to not judge a book by its cover.”

“You start to think, is this a student or teacher? You start to think ‘wow that’s one of my fellow students, I’ve seen this person in my math class or in the cafeteria,’” Feyl said.

Feyl would escort readers to the book and help form questions to ask the “book.” Some of these included: Why did you choose this title? What is your personal connection to this topic? and Why did you choose to tell your story?

The interaction with the human book lasted up to a half an hour, which allowed participants to ask provocative questions and form a connection to the book because of the intimate setting and opportunity for rich dialogue.

Sophomore nursing student Brandon McCluskey shared his experience retiring from the marines and restarting his career at 24 years old.

McCluskey feels as he should not be proud of his service to the country in the fear of coming across as cocky. He wishes to be a typical nursing student but he comes across many obstacles, one being a learning disability he developed after an explosion while serving.

McCluskey wishes to get his degree while telling his story because he thinks that higher education gets individuals far in present day society. One piece of advice he would give soldiers is to inquire about the GI bill.

Feyl has high hopes to expand the human library in later years so that Pace as a whole can get to know the people from the Mount Pleasant Library and Pleasantville communities and vice versa.