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Background It has been more than 20 years since the inception of the human library in 2000. Because no scholar so far has ever conducted a comprehensive review of the development of the human library, our knowledge about human library research is limited. Purpose This study applied the methodology of systematic review to the literature on human library to understand the development and knowledge structure of the research field. Scope/Method 46 documents on human library were extracted from Scopus according to PRISMA guidelines. Descriptive statistics were obtained through bibliometric analysis. Thematic analysis identified the research themes. Content analysis examined the knowledge structure of human library research. Findings This study clarified major characteristics of human library research, such as top articles and journals, most productive authors and countries, and citations, etc. The themes of human library development, diversity, and oral history formed a research strand that focused on the development and operation of human library. The themes of prejudice reduction and inclusion formed another research strand that was interested in the interaction between human books and readers. Finally, the study proposed a comprehensive framework integrating the major themes and facets relating to human library research. Originality This study conducted a systematic literature review of human library with state-of-the-art of techniques. To the best of the authors’ limited knowledge, to date, the study is the first attempt to combine bibliometric, thematic, and content analysis to study library development in the field of libraries and information science.

PurposeHuman libraries are special libraries that give access to real persons known as “human books.” Readers “check out” human books by attending reading sessions organized by the human library. The majority of previous studies focus on reporting the achievement of human libraries, especially on reducing prejudice and promoting social inclusion. There is a dearth of research to investigate how a human library serves and interacts with society. In this regard, this study aims at examining the operation, development, opportunities and challenges of the New Taipei City Human Library (NTCHL), the first and largest human library in Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a triangulation methodology to collect and analyze a multitude of data. Participatory observation intends to understand the operation of the NTCHL. In-depth interview is conducted to collect the opinions of the staff of the NTCHL to identify the challenges and opportunities of the human library. Content analysis on relevant documents is performed to review the development and performance of the NTCHL.FindingsResults indicate that the NTCHL has successfully developed a good collection of human books. The NTCHL not only provides an alternative channel of learning, but also helps build connections between community members. The number of book loans and readers has substantially increased since NTCHL' inception, indicating an increasing demand for human library services in Taiwan. While the NTCHL strives for providing readers with better and diversified services, the issues of limited involvement and commitment of human books, heavy workload and the difficulty to establish a good collection of human books need to be addressed.Research limitations/implicationsThis study investigates a human library in Taiwan, but human libraries in different places are different in some aspects because those human libraries' social contexts are different. Future studies are recommended to compare the similarities and differences between different human libraries systematically. Furthermore, this study identifies the benefits of the human library but human library's effectiveness is not quantified and evaluated. Future studies may conduct quantitative assessments to fill the research gap.Practical implicationsHuman libraries must strive for providing better and diversified services to readers, but there are implications for workload and administration. The experience of the NTCHL may cast light on the future development of human libraries in Taiwan and other countries around the world.Social implicationsThis study shows that the NTCHL has brought a couple of benefits to the society of Taiwan. First, the NTCHL provides readers with an alternative experience of reading. This is an effective way to transmit informal or tacit knowledge. Second, building connections between community members was another benefit of the NTCHL. As modern people are becoming more accustomed to virtual life on the internet which suppresses interpersonal communication, the NTCHL represents an effective platform for communication and sharing of interpersonal experiences.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is the use of triangulation methodology to investigate the operation, development, opportunities and challenges of the first and largest human library in Taiwan. The findings of this study may cast light on the future development of human libraries in Taiwan and other countries.