Romance with a Difference.

Date: The Saturday after Valentine’s Day February 18, 2023

Time: 11.30-5.05

Venue: Pearl Room

Please Note: 16+ years

Book through EventBrite

Think about a library where you can actually talk to the book you borrow, and the book will respond.  This is the human library concept where books are people, who are marginalised and have a unique lived experience.  It was started in Denmark twenty years ago as an attempt to stop violence.

It is cheesy but everyone loves a feel-good romance story.  But what happens after the happily ever after – is marriage hard work, especially with difference in the mix.  Do strangers, friends, and family judge you for not conforming to some pre-judged standard they have in mind?

As the population diversifies, more marriages are different. 

We have an Iranian/Anglo couple (Iranian speaker)

Married with children Catholic/Anglican couple (Anglican speaker)

Indigenous disabled couple (Indigenous disabled speaker)

Together for years but only recently married gay couple (Gay speaker).

Photo supplied by me.

Useful links

The human library website https://humanlibrary.org/

The Australian human library website https://humanlibrary.org/  

Any further questions please contact Rebekah.Radford@pearlcovelibrary.gov.au

Depend on You - Alcohol Awareness Week

11th - 16th November, 2022 

Attribution to jpalinsad360: https://live.staticflickr.com/7336/11064873956_6ef5b12fee.jpg

Alcohol is a part of everyone's lives, whether you partake in drinking on a regular basis or completely abstain from it. Chances are you will either know someone or may yourself be alcohol dependent.

Pearl Cove Library is hosting a Human Library event where you can privately discuss your own issues with alcohol and alcohol dependency or those of a loved one with one of our books. 

Please note this event is restricted to those 18+

What is Alcohol Awareness Week? This initiative was launced in the UK and is a week dedicated to raising the awareness of alcohol consumption. The initiative offers information as well as factsheets and support for those with alcohol dependencies.

For more information on Alcohol Awareness Week visit: 

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/alcohol-awareness-week-1

What is a Human Library? The idea of a Human Library is to open dialogue and address people's prejudices by allowing someone to borrow a "book". The "book" is not an item that you'd read off the shelf, rather a person that you will have a conversation with. Doing so allows people to talk to others from different walks of life and to gain a new understanding and hopefully change one's views and prejudices.

The concept was created in Copenhagen, Denmark in the year 2000 and was held at the Roskilde festival over four days. During this inaugural event over 1000 people took part during the 8 hours per day that the event ran for.

This concept was embraced by Australia and the very first permanent Human Library event was established in Lismore, NSW in 2006.

Now more than 70 countries have established Human Library events.

For more information please visit: 

https://www.humanlibraryaus.org/

https://humanlibrary.org/

Meet our books:

William Mitchell: William is a local indigenous leader in the Pearl Cove Community. He has witnessed first hand the impact that alcohol has had on the indigenous community and offers a unique perspective into the problems that alcohol abuse has had and how he and other indigenous leaders are helping to raise alcohol awareness in the community.

Constable Peter Grothe: Constable Grothe is an officer of the Pearl Cove Police Force. He has seen the impact of alcohol related violence and injuries during his time in the Police. He will be discussing the relation between crime and alcohol as well as his own personal experiences and those of his colleagues regarding alcohol and self medication in the Police Force.

Sarah Baker: Former MP and Councillor of Pearl Cove, Sarah developed a dependency on alcohol during her time working in the local government. Sadly this led to her losing her job and career. Sarah now runs AA meetings and counselling in the community and is an advocate of Alcohol Awareness.

Nurse Linda Ratchett: Nurse Ratchett is a local nurse at the Pearl Cove Hospital. She will be discussing the health effects and impact that alcohol has had on her patients in her care as well as the greater Pearl Cove community. She will also discuss the issue of self medicating with alcohol that occurs in high stress careers including the health sector.

Event details:

When: Saturday 12th November, 2022 from 12pm-3:30pm

Where: Meet at the Cove Meeting Room, Pearl Cove Library. Bookings with our books will take place in the adjacent group study rooms.

Bookings: Bookings are $10 per person, space is strictly limited so please ensure to make a booking and you will be allocated a book(s) and time. 

To book a session please either contact: 

Phone: (02) 9XXX XXXX

Email: events@pearlcovelibrary.com.au 

Online Booking: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/

Need support?

Depend on You will offer details and contacts to local AA meetings and will also offer details on contacts for drug and alcohol counsellors in the Pearl Cove community.

Additional information and support is available at:

Drinkwise: https://drinkwise.org.au/

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation: https://adf.org.au/

Any additional questions please contact Julian English via email: julian.english@pearlcovelibrary.com.au

Julian English

Breaking the silence. Let’s talk about suicide.

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Breaking the silence – World Suicide Prevention Day, Let’s talk about suicide. 

      "Human Library at University of Essex" by University of Essex is marked with CC BY 2.0.

On the 10th of September. We are breaking the silence for World Suicide Prevention Day. We are talking about suicide. 

     Where: The event will be held at the Pearl Cove Library in the Pearl Room.

When: On Friday the 10^th of September, 2021. The event will run from 1:00 to 5:00 pm.

Talking about suicide has always been a taboo. But it happens more than you think, closer than you think, and more than any of us want. It happens but no one talks about it. Why do they do it? What happens to the family and friends left behind? And how can we prevent it from happing again? 

So we are going to do it! We will challenge the social stigma around talking about suicide, and the assumptions we hold about people who attempt suicide. We will open the conversation to recognize the importance we all place in suicide prevention; and answer some of our burning questions while doing it. 

We are holding a Human Living Library event! 

What's is a human library? Human Libraries reduce social stigmas, challenge stereotypes, and promote an acceptance of others; by allowing readers to book, listen, and interact with the stories of real people. 

The books in the living library are people! The stories from the living libraries are real, the people right in front of your eyes. You can ask people questions you have always wanted answered but never felt comfortable to ask. Human Library events focus on breaking down these stereotypes and assumptions about others and encourage acceptance. 

This event will be focused on suicide. Our books are the families effected by suicide, people who attempted suicide, and experienced suicidal behaviors. We will all work together to break down these social barriers and recognize the signs that could lead to suicide.

Want to learn more about Human Libraries? Check out the Human Libraries Australia webpage. 

We will be holding private reading sessions from 1:30 to 5pm with our 10 humans books. You will be talking with the book of your choice one on one for 30 minutes. Check out our books and book a session below!

Our Human Books!

     h                                            

                                   "I almost died"                                     "I attempted suicide"                                                                     - Alice Alison                                          - Steve Rogers      

                 

                         "I am the family left behind"                               "I self harmed"   

                                  - Darth Vader                                              - James Bond 

                                                       

                    "The aboriginal that experienced                          "I lost my best friend"                                                            it all" - Sherlock Homes                             - Sam Samson

                                                          

                                "How I told my fiancé I                             "My family shamed me"                                                          wanted to die"  - Anthony Stark                      - James Barns          

                     

                                    

                               "I lost a loved one, I wanted                   "How my Asian family reacted"  

                               to join them"- Peter Parker                             - Clint Barton

                                            

Interested in a book? Click here and book one now

We hope to see you there!

Pearl Cove Libraries - Event Manager - Lauren Watson.

    

Horary! It's Harmony Day!

What creates a community?

"One world, one community"

Introduction

What creates a community? A community is really made of many things, ranging from a place to call "home," a unique culture found localised within an area and most importantly the people who make up the community itself. While a community is made up of these things and more, each community is different and it's patrons, community members etc. come from a range of backgrounds, countries and experiences that don't discriminate on race, age, sex or creed. This is what makes a community so great, that anyone and everyone can become part of something greater.

Pearl Cove's Human Living Library - Our Goal

The Human Living Library Project by Pearl Cove Library aims to complete the following objectives: 

• An Inclusive and Connected Region 

• Celebrating Our Places 

• Smart Economy

• Vibrant Arts and Cultural Community

These objectives aim to enrich the community of Pear Cove through the interaction of our volunteers or human "books" on a timed one-on-one experience that is unique to the individual. We hope here at Pearl Cove Library that we can increase community confidence through engagement with one another strengthening a more cohesive society, dispelling any misconceptions, biases or even stereotypes that may be present in Pearl Cove.

The Human Library Project

What is the Human Library?

The Human Library or “Menneskebiblioteket” as it is called in Danish, was created in Copenhagen in the spring of 2000 by Ronni Abergel and his brother Dany and colleagues Asma Mouna and Christoffer Erichsen. The original event was open eight hours a day for four days straight and featured over fifty different titles. The broad selection of books provided readers with ample choice to challenge their stereotypes and so more than a thousand readers took advantage leaving books, librarians, organisers and readers stunned at the reception and impact of the Human Library.

So what is a human book?

A book with us is a person that volunteered to represent a stigmatized group in the community and based on their personal experiences can answer questions from readers to help challenge what is being said/told/understood about a given topic. To help shed light on the facts as you know them. Books are not political or on a mission when with us, but rather able to surrender to the agenda of the reader and allow them control of the conversation.

For more information please click on the FAQ to find out more about The Human Library.

Our Living Library "Books"

• Eva Kabirii - 42yr Female refugee from Syria, has been living in Pearl Cove for the past 6 years and is making the most of her new life here.

• Iman Farahmand – 65yr Male refugee from Iran, is one of the community Elders and one of the pillars for the Persian community here in Pearl Cove.

• Kirra Yugambeh – 28yr Indigenous Female, Kirra was born in Pearl Cove and has grown up here in the local region.

• Ming Yin – 25yr Female, Ming was born in Australia, but her parents immigrated to Australia over 20 years ago from China. Ms. Yin believes she has some insights to what it’s like growing up as a 2^nd generation Australian and growing up with two cultures.

• Doug McGauhn – 55yr Male from Pearl Cove. Doug has spent most of his time here living in Pearl Cove and has watch this small town flourish with varied peoples from all over the world, he wants to add a sense of strong community spirit through the Living Libraries Project and the Peoples of Pearl Cove even. 

Event Details:

When: Saturday 14th November 2020

Where: Pearl Cove Library Facility

Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Cost: $10 per person, per book.

Bookings: Bookings are essential please click here to reserve your place and human "book."

Contact Us:

For further information on the event or any additional enquiries please call:

Pearl Cove Library - (02) 9445-3257 

Senior Library Staff Member, Kyle O'Grady - 0400111222

Published by Kyle O'Grady