(From top) Tourists identified as Austrian Skier, A Multi-roots Girl from France and Sicilian Gardener interact with visitors at Bakul Living Library in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 9: If you thought of every Irish Catholic as an alcoholic associated with leprechauns or every Austrian skier a meat-eater, you ought to visit Bakul Living Library. The library that swears by “don’t judge a book by its cover” aims to change stereotypes about communities across the globe.

The books here, though, are not your conventional kind —they are made of flesh and blood!

In the first session yesterday, nine foreign nationals from countries such as Estonia, the Philippines, Italy, France, Australia, England, Austria and Ireland, acted as the books. They wrote a brief synopsis of the stereotypes on a chart, which were then hung on them. Young volunteers at Bakul Library and kids from nearby slums could issue the “books” and ask the living books questions about their backgrounds and regions.

“I have grown up reading books about the mafia, such as The Godfather and The Last Don by Mario Puzo. So, I wanted to find out more about Sicilians. I addressed the book as paisano, which means brother in Italian. He told me the island of Sicily has a vibrant culture. Sicilians are more akin to Tunisians than Italians,” said Aditya Nag, after his interactive session with the book Sicilian Gardener.

The other books were the Irish Catholic, Australian Lawyer, Filipino Wanderlust, British Youth, Philosopher from Estonia, A Multi-roots Girl from France, Austrian Skier, and Estonian girl in India. Besides narrating the tales of their region, they introduced their culture through their traditional food too.

A young Estonian volunteer, Diana Tamm, who used to conduct storytelling sessions for children at Bakul, proposed the idea for the living library. “I had attended a similar library in Europe. We need to change the skewed, stereotypical perspective about people the world over. The general perception about an Estonian girl alone in India is that she is on a spiritual journey — she is looking for adventure, does not know what to do in her life and hopes to find some answers in India. But not all of us are like that,” said Diana.

The visitors at the library could issue the “books” for just 30 minutes; an extra 10 minutes meant a fine of Rs 10. They could reissue a particular book or reserve it in case it was not available. Other amusing rules were that the reader must return the book in the same mental and physical condition; causing damage or hurting its dignity was forbidden. The books could refuse to take any uncomfortable question and quit the conversation if treated in an inappropriate manner.

“We wanted to facilitate an intercultural understanding through multi-cultural exposure. The books here are tourists and the volunteers of our storytelling from around the world session,” said Mohua Moharana of Bakul.

She added these sessions would be held once a month and deal with more local prejudices. “We are trying to bring Muslims, Christian missionaries, HIV+ve persons, tribals, dalits, drug addicts, alcoholics, people with different sexual preferences and whoever we are prejudiced against.”