The Human Library is a programme of collaborative artist-led workshops, commissions and happenings in Bootle and Crosby Libraries.

Our philosophy is that everyone has “gifts of the heart, the head and the hand” to offer their community. Through artist-led processes, the Human Library creates ways for people to share these gifts.

Residencies, commissions and workshops explore and reimagine the civic and cultural role of libraries, offering new experiences for library-users, new meeting points, new reasons to gather and ways to spend time together. Everyone is welcome and everything is free.

Over the past three years, artists and library users have worked together to produce projects ranging from a collaborative press archive, a Bootle tapestry, community-wide skill shares, a Human Library podcast, feasts, celebrations and library-cooked lunches, and a green oasis in Bootle Library.

We have worked with artists including Ciara Phillips, Jenny Steele, Jayne Lawless, Reena Makwana, Sumuyya Khader, Sean Roy Parker, Fairland Collective, Leanne Cook, Frances Disley and Peoples’ Bureau, alongside local historians, gardeners, community organisations and educators. You can read more about our projects here.

To find out more about the Human Library you can speak to one of the librarians at Bootle or Crosby Library, see the current programme on this website, or click through to find us on facebook, twitter or Instagram.

The Human Library is organised by Sefton Libraries with funding from Arts Council England