Beyond the Cover...Living Books

What is BEYOND THE COVER…Living Books?  

Beyond the Cover is a library of books – except the books are people and the readers are drawn from the college community.  MVC students who manage disabilities will be Living Books.  Readers check out these Living Books and have a conversation with them for 15 minutes.  The conversation will focus on whatever the Living Book shares as part of their story. 

Student Learning Outcomes: 

• Student will gain a better understanding of the struggles, similarities, and successes that students with disabilities have compared to themselves 

• Faculty will understand more about the challenges students who manage disabilities face in class. 

• DSPS student will feel more connected to the college community as the veil and stigma of attending college with a disability is removed

How it Works

On the day of the event, there will be a browsing area for all of the Living Books.   In order to check-out a Living Book, the Reader will sign a library card with the title and author’s name. A volunteer will walk the reader to the Living Book, where the conversation will begin.  The policies are as follows: 

• Living books can be checked out for 15 minutes.  
• Living books are renewable for another 15 minutes, as long as there are no holds on the book.  
• Multiple-person checkouts are available for some books 
• A volunteer will let you know when your checkout period is over.