“I had been calling myself Muslim since 1968 because it was cool. You know, Malcolm X, Black awareness in the United States..”

Michelle Walrond's tale about being Muslim in a different era and place is part of this great-grandmother's remarkable life story.

It's a story that Walrond, aka Um Nur, was happy to share with library borrowers at the CBC's third annual Human Library, in partnership with the Ottawa Public Library on January 25, 2014.

Ottawa residents had the chance to sit down with one of sixty human "books" available to sign out at public library locations across the city on Jan. 28.

The event was billed as an exciting opportunity for the public to connect one-on-one with individuals who have diverse life experiences, stories and knowledge. For 20 minutes at the human library “readers” could “check out” people from completely different walks of life for one-on-one talks.

The concept of the human library was launched in Denmark in 2000 as a way to promote dialogue and diversity, reduce prejudice and encourage understanding. The eclectic list of human “books” at the Ottawa event included an Aboriginal spiritual healer, a child services worker, a neurosurgeon a Somali refugee, a judge, an HIV-positive man, a police officer and a Peking Opera performer.