Author: sustainrtblog

By Kayla Kuni

Libraries are the perfect place to have sustainability discussions since libraries are known for providing educational opportunities. At my former public library, we hosted films that focused on environmentalism followed by community discussion. The library then began hosting a weekly organic farmer’s market (which continues to this day) to better inform local residents about the concept of eating locally and eating with the seasons. I heard several customers ask why they could not buy a tomato from local farmers, but they could get one from Winn Dixie. Our local farmers could then educate our residents about how far that tomato had to travel to arrive at Winn Dixie and how the transportation process of said tomato was actually leaving a huge ecological impact on the environment. The library’s collection provided further evidence for the patron to read in order to confirm what they had learned at the market.

As structures, libraries are being designed with sustainability in mind. The green report cards issued by San Francisco Public Library are inspiring. The report cards take into account the LEED standards of “sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality” (“Green Report Cards,” 2019, para. 2). While the budget for San Francisco Public Libraries is relatively high compared to others, and some may feel that LEED standards are expensive to implement, there are design decisions that come into play when a library building is renovated.

The topic of paper usage (Hitchcock & Willard, 2015, p. 39) is one that is very interesting since libraries tend to print a lot in lieu of storing information on something like a digitized spreadsheet. In some ways libraries are very behind with the times in that certain policies require printed records to be retained. That being said, libraries are often on the cutting edge of digitizing resources. Perhaps librarians can be bigger advocates for change in how we envision records to be retained in the future and why they feel that changes need to be made. The cost of the paper, and the ink for printing, is very high, but what truly alarms me is that so much time is wasted in dealing with paper (Hitchcock & Willard, 2015, p. 39). Hitchcock & Willard’s (2015) suggestion that productivity is lost, resources are wasted, and nothing additional is added to the company’s value, should make any organization consider going paper free.

The topic of sustainability and libraries is one that I have a great deal of interest in. In 2017, I returned to school in order to work on an MBA with an emphasis in sustainable businesses. At the American Library Association Midwinter meeting this past January in Seattle, the ALA Council (of which I am an elected member) voted to include “sustainability” as a core value in librarianship (ALA, 2019). If we are truly passionate about it, we need to have conversations about what sustainability is and what behaviors we need to change to become more sustainable.

References

American Library Association. (2019, January 29). ALA adds sustainability to core values. Retrieved from https://clrc.org/49707-2/

“Green Report Cards.” (2019). San Francisco Public Library. Retrieved from
https://sfpl.org/?pg=2000187201

Hitchcock, D. & Willard, M. (2015). The business guide to sustainability: Practical strategies and tools for organizations (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Kayla Kuni is a librarian at Pasco-Hernando State College. Prior to working for PHSC, Kayla worked in a public library for over six years. In both academic and public libraries, Kayla has taught future business owners how to access resources that will help grow small businesses. In 2017, she was named the Outstanding Public Servant by the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce for her work with the community. Kayla is pursuing an MBA, with an emphasis on sustainability, from the University of South Florida.

By David Seldon

I am a seasoned librarian but a relatively new member of ALA and the Sustainability Round Table (SustainRT). In fact, the joining the SustainRT was the main reason I joined ALA. The size of the Association and large number of active, intelligent, and motivated members of SustainRT is impressive. Joining the Round Table made me feel immediately welcome and empowered. I jumped right in and joined the Governance Committee and started work on important projects like ALA endowment divestment from fossil fuels and participating in adding sustainability to ALA’s core values – rubbing elbows with Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Uta Hussong-Christian and other remarkable librarians. Wow!

It didn’t take long for me to learn about the wide range of expertise on sustainability issues within SustainRT. As the former chair of American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Standing Committee on Environmental Sustainability, I had felt fairly isolated when working on sustainability issues. But that feeling of isolation changed when I joined ALA and the SustainRT. There are so many ways to become active and to learn from my new colleagues and to make a difference for the environment and our health, safety and well-being.

Besides working on big issues within ALA, I think the biggest value of being a member of the SustainRT is having access to all of the knowledge and support of the collective group. Often times we get stuck when trying to implement positive change within our own organizations. We might struggle with how to go about getting an energy/eco audit of our buildings to develop a baseline on energy use and greenhouse gases, or we may have difficulty deciding how to talk with management about starting an organization-wide “green committee.” The Round Table forum, webinar events, conference programs and the developing mentorship program are available to us to help us learn from each other to get unstuck and “get sustainability done.” We are here to help each other so don’t hesitate to ask for help, join a committee, participate in a webinar or conference program or just lurk on the forum.

David Selden is a member of the SustainRT Governance Committee and was a panel speaker for the “Carbon Offsets for Sustainability: Why, Where , How,” presented Sunday, June 23, 2019 at ALA Annual.

By Raymond Pun

This short video covers how to integrate information literacy and library resources to support campus sustainability research for STEM programs.

Raymond Pun is the Instruction/Research Librarian at Alder Graduate School of Education. Along with Dr. Gary Shaffer, he is the co-editor of the upcoming volume, The Sustainable Library’s Cookbook (ACRL Publications, Fall 2019) featuring over 40 contributions from academic librarians, teaching faculty and students on best practices and case studies to promote sustainability initiatives, activities and values in the academic library workplace. 

By Mary Beth Lock

Libraries have always been intrinsically connected to sustainability to me. I remember in my formative years finding that libraries were the great equalizer, eliminating barriers to access for people from all walks of life. One of my earliest memories in fact, is feeling literally empowered by receiving my first library card.  I was 6 years old, and suddenly, the entirety of my (now I recognize admittedly little) branch library was available to me. While I spent many an hour in the early reader’s chapter book section pursing Amelia Bedelia, Ramona and Nancy Drew, gleefully checking out what I could carry to read in the next few weeks, I recognized the inherent goodness and rightness that is embedded in such an institution whose very purpose is to share.  That became the basis of my lifelong love of libraries.

Now we have much changed society: one that is both more and less connected to each other, and certainly one that is more online. The value of that branch library may have less significance for today’s first graders as simply a place to find books. But it continues to fill niches for people from across the spectrum of users. Job searchers, and community organizers, and e- and paper book readers all can find reasons to utilize the library.  That foundational “sharing” ethic continues to be valued. But while it was once only the library’s duty to share, businesses have adopted the sharing ethic as well. With ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft; lodging opportunities like Couchsurfing and VRBO; car sharing, like Zipcar, many are recognizing the power of sharing instead of buying. And as we share what we have, we gain abundance. Sharing also has the added bonus of being easier on the environment because less stuff needs to be made. As the three pillars of Sustainability includes the social, the economic and the environmental, I recognize how libraries fulfill all three. The library provides a place to welcome all members of society. They fill the economic gap that divides some people from the information and resources they need. They are good stewards of the limited resources of our earth by allowing for easy sharing of the services and materials they have.  It is why my librarianship and my sustainability ethos are so closely aligned. We, none of us, own what we have. We are just the temporary borrowers of things. To paraphrase Chief Seattle, we borrow all we see from our grandchildren. Libraries of all sorts embody, manifest, and exemplify that position.

Mary Beth Lock is Assistant Dean and Director of Access Services in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University. She is a founding member of SustainRT and served on the board as a Member-at-Large from 2015-2017. She has published articles and chapters on sustainability, service models, and entrepreneurship in libraries.

Blog Post by Kristen Mastel

The concept of sustainability is gaining ground within the library community, as we have seen with the adoption of “sustainability” as a core value of librarianship this past year. While this is a great start to bring this to the forefront of our profession, we need to ask what are we working towards, not just simply working on regarding sustainability in our libraries, community, and beyond.

As the liaison to the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, I have seen how they have crafted a strategic plan with a mission of both people and planet prospering together. This aligns with the concept of the triple bottom line “where organizations must be economically prosperous, promote environmental quality, and be champions of social justice in order to be sustainable,” according to John Elkington. How could libraries work together towards this goal?

As an outreach and instruction librarian, I will highlight some of the efforts we have undertaken at my institution, as I work on programmatic outreach planning rather than merely a collection of activities related to sustainability.

Since the beginning, libraries have implicitly had sustainability as a core value – if we look at one of our main services is to circulate books and materials to the public. In addition to providing books at pop-up libraries at our campus and community farmers’ markets, we also table and provide activities, such as button making with discarded magazines, at various sustainability programs and events. These efforts not only increase awareness of the Libraries resources and services but serve as an environmental model of reuse and repurpose.

A core area where our university is trying to foster change is around social justice issues related to food systems. The library is a key partner with faculty focused around food access and food desert research as we provide in-depth research assistance through research sprints. In addition, the Libraries are a central player in reducing student costs by finding open educational resources and library-licensed materials for course readings. Another core outreach effort is to review the STARS report, which gives great insight into courses that discuss sustainability and support resources for outreach.

At a micro-level, we acknowledge that our student workers are often forced to make difficult choices with their finances, such as either purchasing a textbook or healthy eating. However, we recognize we can do more by addressing living wage issues as well. We want to empower our students and staff to support their own health by growing their own food. We have six circulating gardening kits and provide seeds at the campus garden plot lottery. These coordinated efforts ensure that the library is viewed as a central player in the community around sustainability. Therefore, the library can be a safe space where complex discussions around climate change can happen, as the campus works to balance corporate financial support and sustainability and tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in order to ensure that people and the planet can prosper together.

Travel Award Runner up submission post!

Use Data to Empower Your Community by Mary Bakija

https://savi.carto.com/u/mbakija/builder/d57ae3be-bfed-4e1f-b55a-fd91b1b17d3a/embed

The amount of water that rushed into Brooklyn Public Library’s Coney Island branch during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 is hard to imagine, but photos taken soon after the storm show its power — books strewn across floors that had yet to completely drain, chairs and tables toppled. Six branches in that system lost more than 75,000 books, magazines, and DVDs, and repairs cost around $10 million. Coney Island Library finally reopened about a year later, but it’s still in the same location, still vulnerable to future storms.

Sandy is a powerful example of why sustainability planning must be linked to libraries of all kinds, and in all parts of the country where a variety of climate issues may have an impact. Immediately following Sandy, New York City government discussed options and began plans to protect the city from storms and rising sea levels. But now, nearly seven years later, talk has faded to the background, little work has been done, and cultural institutions like Coney Island Library remain susceptible to harm. But there are ways those institutions can empower local communities that rely on them to help push for change.

Because also since Sandy, there’s been a growing call for open access to government data, and cities like New York have created websites where the public can view and download datasets. (Some cities have even arranged to have their libraries host that data, but that’s a subject for another blog post.) Though data should always be approached critically, with ample consideration to what’s missing and how and why they were collected, there are opportunities for communities to use this kind of information to communicate ideas and motivate action. And libraries can help show them how.

For some, hearing about the impacts of climate change may not be as powerful as seeing it visualized. Data visualizations like the one shown above, which uses NYC datasets to show some of the cultural heritage institutions that may face challenges as sea levels are predicted to rise, can help tell sustainability stories in new ways. Showing people how to create those visualizations provides an opportunity for empowerment. When your community learns to use available data to illustrate libraries at risk as the climate changes, for instance, they may feel more of an ownership stake, and may be more likely to advocate for change. And if you can show them how they can contact their local representatives to share their work, that’s a chance for the data they’ve visualized to illustrate a need for legislation and other actions that can help ensure their communities are sustainable.

If data literacy is one pathway to protecting our communities from these potential events, creating programs that strengthen the public’s understanding and use of public data is important now more than ever. By offering examples or training for librarians on how to they can build public data visualization programs for their communities, SunstainRT can help empower those communities. It’s a small action that can help make a big difference.

Mary Bakija is an MLIS student at Pratt Institute, where she also serves as the President of the school’s ALA student chapter. This fall, she will begin a fellowship at the Frick Art Reference Library working with the web archiving team for the New York Art Resources Consortium.

SustainRT Travel Award Winner 2019

Librarians as the Original Sustainability Advocates

Libraries are, in a certain way, the original advocates for sustainability. We purchase a few items for many to share, increasing accessibility and reducing resource use and waste. Libraries are a formalized expression of this enduring practice.

We also hold a distinct position in society that necessitates our responsiveness to the issues facing our populations. As a place where information, learning, resources, and community intersect, libraries hold the responsibility to provide accessible education on sustainability. To serve our patrons’ specific needs, though, we must insist on our individual communities guiding our efforts: what resources will best serve our patrons? Are there local groups and businesses that could be valuable partners? How can we, as a library, adopt more sustainable practices? Answering these questions calls for a library-wide, explicit, and intentional commitment to sustainability.

Discussion on sustainability tends to be associated only with the largest, most visible efforts for it. Libraries are seldom part of the conversation, and that is a costly disservice to our patrons. Because we are deeply rooted places of learning and engagement, we are uniquely positioned to bolster the future impact of sustainability in our communities.

Libraries are already pioneers of the “access over ownership” concept, and it is increasingly evident in our collections: more libraries are checking out “things,” including games, electronics, kitchen appliances, bakeware, and tools. Consider the difference in waste produced by one of these items, purchased by a library for hundreds to share, compared to the waste that would be produced if interested patrons each purchased that item. We already employ our systems to facilitate cooperative sharing of resources, and we can expand our efforts by developing these collections further.   

Libraries must also consider our role as education centers. Sustainability is a broad and sometimes ambiguous term, making it difficult or daunting for many to understand. That’s where we step in, with sustainability-focused programming, resources, and staff. As a Youth Programs Specialist, I always consider the effect we can bring forth in future generations, and the topic of sustainability becomes especially significant in this light. If we are committed to serving our youth, we are committed to helping them understand their world – the past, present, and future of it. Sustainability plays a key role in the issues their generation will face. Developing programs on sustainability is a necessary component in offering relevant learning experiences, and we can also apply the same mindset to our offerings for patrons of any age. One of our most important capacities for sustainability is providing easily reachable information and education, for all members of our community.

Regardless of location or size, the key factor in successful sustainability efforts is our dedication to our patrons. By constructing our sustainability efforts according to our patrons’ needs, we are making sustainable living accessible and advocating for the sustainability measures important to our populations. We are positioned to become a powerful factor in the sustainability movement, and we can strengthen our communities in the process.

Post by Dani Scott, ALA SustainRT Intern 2019

As I finish my last semester of graduate school with Simmons University’s LIS program, I can say, without a doubt, that my internship with the American Library Association’s Sustainability Round Table was one of the most rewarding experiences of the entire program. How it all came about was a bit of luck: I was in conversation with a member of SustainRT to intern specifically with her. However, we couldn’t quite make that work, so I reached out to the round table’s board and asked, “Hey, do you know of any internship opportunities regarding sustainability?” As a matter of fact, they did—involving the entire round table! The structure of the internship was fantastic. Committee chairs were asked if they could use the help of an intern on any projects. I was then presented with these projects and selected the ones that best matched my interests and abilities.

All told, I ended up working with the Book Award (soon to be called the Book List), Membership, Online Education, and Outreach Committees. My time with each supported my growth as a librarian, collaborator, researcher, and presenter. With the Online Education folks, I was given the opportunity to moderate webinar question and answer periods, something that is much harder than you’d think when scrolling through fast moving chat boxes! It was certainly a lesson in quick thinking, patience, and concisely communicating a lot of information. I was also given the chance to present a webinar on the link between mindfulness and sustainability. This project grew unexpectedly out of a conversation between myself and the chair of the committee on our very first meeting. That kind of spontaneity was one thing I loved about working with all of the folks in SustainRT. There was never a sense that I was the intern who would just do the tasks laid out for me; rather, there was a collaborative, organic feel to projects which allowed them to transform as new ideas arose.

With the Membership Committee, I supported the design and launch of the SustainRT Mentorship Program. (We’re looking for mentors and mentees, so apply here!) The program matches sustainability-engaged librarians with LIS students or new librarians (within their first three years of professional work) to offer support and guidance. As part of the design of this program, I was in touch with librarians all over the country. This led to a fantastic conversation with Sharrese Castillo, the mentorship coordinator from the Hawaii Library Association, and Julene Jones, the past chair of the Library Leadership And Management Association mentorship program. As a student who has little time to attend conferences and meetings, there is limited opportunity for networking with other librarians, but SustainRT illuminated the national picture of what it means to be a sustainability-engaged librarian.

As part of the Book Award Committee, I designed the list of Sustainability-Themed Children’s Books for 2019. (Note: this committee is deciding on its charge and may change its name to the “Book List Committee” soon!) Committee members had spent time reviewing and choosing books, and, after much editing, seeking feedback, and yet more editing, we met our goal by publishing the list in time for Earth Day. This process was a great way to observe the “inner workings” of consensus-building—it takes time, patience, a willingness to negotiate, and trust in your fellow committee members. After witnessing all of this, I have a much deeper appreciation for, and understanding of, what collaboration really looks like.

That collaborative spirit is also a big part of the Outreach Committee. There is a deep sense of the collective with these folks, with lots of care given to everyone’s opinion and voice. This blog post is part of my work with them, in fact, and, as a little plug, the Outreach folks are always on the lookout for new blog post authors. If you have something to share about your sustainability-related work (or really anything sustainability related), get in touch with them!

I was a member of SustainRT before my internship. (Membership is free for students, and only $10 after that!) Now I feel like part of the SustainRT community. It wasn’t just the projects that meant so much to me—it was the care and interest that each member showed me. The folks in SustainRT are dedicated, knowledgeable, and generous. My time with the constellation of committees I interned with brought me a greater understanding of committee work and librarianship, sure, but it also gave me a much deeper understanding of what sustainability means and looks like. I now feel empowered to do more than push recycling programs or run discussions on climate change (although those are important, too!), and supporting others to understand this connection between mindfulness and sustainability has become a goal for me. The importance of community and recognizing the intersectionality of sustainability with the myriad power structures in place, and how these affect our fellow humans is another giant leap in my understanding of what it means to be sustainable. The lists of gifts I’ve received from this internship could go on and on. My view of what’s possible in the library world is forever changed, and, though I have no idea where it might take me, I feel thankful to everyone who supported me through it. To fellow LIS students passionate about sustainability and in search of a fantastic internship experience: reach out to SustainRT, or other groups whose mission makes your heart sing! You never know where that inquiry may lead you.

There is no substitute for an in-person gathering of library professionals. It can be one of the most rewarding, informative, and inspiring activities of one’s career. ALA conferences harness the collective power of librarians. But, as members of the ALA’s Sustainability Round Table, or individuals concerned about the environmental crisis, how do we reconcile the profound benefits of conference travel with the fact that air travel is the quickest way to inflate your personal carbon footprint? One round-trip flight to the ALA conference this year (from Denver to Washington, DC) can undo a year’s worth of emission reductions from all of these actions combined: taking the bus to work, adding insulation to your home, recycling, composting, adjusting the thermostat at night, unplugging appliances to avoid phantom load, using LED lighting, and making dietary changes.

However, there is something you can do to counterbalance the impact. You can participate in a carbon-offset program, which is an initiative that purposely reduces greenhouse gases (GHG) from the atmosphere. By financially supporting these projects, donors are able to mitigate their GHG emissions by receiving offset “credits.”  Not only do these projects benefit the environment, they often improve the lives of the people involved. Examples include: clean cookstoves, low GHG emitting water purification systems, landfill gas capture systems, etc.

Though they do not fully address systemic problems inherent in our modern society’s unsustainable lifestyle, carbon offsets, (as well as renewable energy credits and carbon credits) can be effective strategies to voluntarily reduce your individual contribution to climate change.

Before selecting a carbon offset provider, you may wish to do some research. Important considerations are if the project is third party verified or uses the “Gold Standard,” which guarantees that the project meets strict criteria related to sustainability. See a list and ratings of some of the best carbon offset providers at www.offsetconsumer.org/providers. Most carbon offset organizations have travel calculators on their website, which lets you know how much it would cost to offset your flight (usually no more than the price of lunch at an affordable restaurant).

But do these programs actually work? Where in the world are they located? How does one encourage or implement them at the organization or institution level? These questions will be explored at an ALA 2019 conference program, hosted by the Sustainability Round Table.

SUSTAINRT Carbon Offsets for Sustainable Travel: Why, Where, How

Sunday, June 23 • 8:30 am – 10:00 am

Jennifer Blaha (speaker)
Conservation International

Blake Lawrence (speaker)
Cool Effect

David Selden (speaker)
Native American Rights Fund / National Indian Law Library

Lisa Rosen (speaker)
Gold Standard

Uta Hussong-Christian (moderator)
Oregon State University Libraries & Press

The program will include a representative from carbon offset provider Cool Effect. Cool Effect uses a rigorous verification process to ensure that projects are legitimately reducing carbon pollution. Each of their carbon offset projects meet the toughest requirements of the world’s major carbon standards (including the United Nations).

Even if you can’t attend this program, maybe you’ll consider offsets for any air travel you do, the flight of a friend, or your general household footprint? As members of the Sustainability Round Table, here are some examples of our own offset choices:

David Selden

In my personal life, I have always tried to reduce my climate carbon footprint the best I could and offset the rest. The project our family has funded over the past few years is the Uganda cook stove project offered by Cool Effect. This project is third party verified, inexpensive and offers many social benefits in addition to protecting our climate. The most important benefits to the Ugandan families are creation of jobs, lowering the cost of fuel for cooking, improving air quality and health and lowering deforestation caused by wood harvesting. In addition, this project has special appeal to me, as I’ve spent several happy years of my childhood in Uganda, playing with the local children. This is a way to give back to the community in a country where I was respected and felt like I belonged.

Jenny Rockwell

Though I cannot attend the ALA conference this year, I have decided to support a colleague’s participation by offsetting her travel with a $11 donation to Cool Effect’s Native American Methane Capture project. The mountains of Colorado have been shifting. When they shift, gases from deep inside the core of the earth are released. The Southern Ute Tribe has learned how to capture this leaking gas and redirect it into existing pipelines for energy use by homes, businesses and schools across the reservation. This project captures methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more damaging to Earth than CO₂. Unlike fracking, this project turns an obvious environmental problem into a productive solution. Plus, my donation is tax-deductible, and less than 10% of it goes toward administrative costs.

Here at SustainRT, we fantasize about a day when conference registration forms automatically add a section for opting in to carbon offset programs. Or, perhaps, a day when carbon offsets are included in the price of a conference ticket. Until then, conscientious and progressive networkers, such as yourself, can decide now to integrate a carbon offset program into your travel expenses. It’s a small price to pay for mitigating climate change, supporting sustainability and the people that benefit from these important projects. Hope you’ll be able to attend the program.

 

Jenny Rockwell and David Selden

Governance Committee, Sustainability Round Table

 

The American Library Association’s Sustainability Round Table  (SustainRT) Booklist Committee has compiled a “top 10” list of recommended books published in 2018 for children about the environment, playing in nature, gardening, and so much more. 2019_SustainRT_booklist