Already trialled by Lake Macquarie City Council libraries, he national Living Library scheme is based on the reader becoming a listener and interviewer and borrowing a person instead of a book.

"If you had 11 lives to choose from, which one would you choose?"

That is a question posed by Wyong Mayor Bob Graham, who says Wyong Library is offering 'borrowers' the chance to sit down with their choice of fascinating people to hear first-hand about an Escape from East Berlin; life from Penthouse to Poorhouse and Back; Shades of Cream and Chocolate, a story about life in apartheid South Africa, and more.

"In the Living Library you borrow a person, not a book. Select the living book (person) you would like to meet and sit down for a 15 to 20 minute chat over a cuppa," Cr Graham said.

"The opportunity for a one-to-one conversation with such a diverse range of people is a great way to encourage understanding and challenge negative stereotypes and reduce prejudice."

Waiting in the Tony Sheridan Function Room at Council Chambers on Wednesday from 10am to noon will be some extraordinary stories, including I've Looked At Life From Both Sides Now, the Award-winning auto-biographical diary of former transvestite Katherine Cummings.

It's free but book by phoning 4353 5666.