Check us out.

What's the best way to challenge homophobic attitudes held by people who don't know any gays or lesbians? Let them talk to one face-to-face.

That's the conclusion of a growing number of libraries across Europe, including the city library in Malmo, Sweden. Patrons there were able to "check out" people from a number of different occupations or minority groups--including a lesbian--for a 45-minute chat during a two-day period in August. The project, called Living Library, was introduced in Denmark in 2000 and has since been tried in Norway. Portugal, and Hungary.