ALA/SustainRT scholarships for 2022 graduates

ALA/SustainRT scholarships for 2022 graduates:

Congratulations! We hope all 2022 graduates are excited to embark on or continue your library career and continue your membership in the professional community of ALA and the Sustainability Round Table. We understand that dues can be a financial challenge and therefore SustainRT is offering a number of scholarships to pay for one year’s membership in ALA and SustainRT. Our goal is to help you continue to interact with a large community of library peers in ALA and develop and share your ideas and expertise to further sustainable communities in all types of libraries.

You can apply for one of the scholarships by submitting an application at https://forms.gle/tSjwgxwmKDPEAFBv6. The deadline is May 30, 2022. If you have any questions, please contact any SustainRT Membership Committee member (https://www.ala.org/rt/sustainrt/membership – you must be logged into ALA to view email addresses).

Sincerely, The SustainRT Membership committee

Top 10 Sustainability-Themed Children’s Books 2022

Each year, the Sustainability Round Table Booklist Committee curates an annual list of 10 notable children’s books on nature, conservation, and communities that reflect the mission of SustainRT “to exchange ideas and opportunities regarding sustainability in order to move toward a more equitable, healthy, and economically viable society.” Click below to download the formatted list!

Member Monday: August Smith

Welcome to Member Mondays! The first Monday of each month, we’ll feature a member of SustainRT with a short profile.

We’re super excited to continue our 2022 Member Mondays with this profile of August Smith (me!), Children’s Librarian at New Orleans Public Library in New Orleans, LA. All SustainRT members are welcomed and encouraged to follow August’s example and fill out our short self-nomination form in order to become featured in a future Member Monday themselves. We’re looking forward to getting to know one another a little better in hopes of strengthening our community of people committed to sustainability in our profession. Happy Member Monday!

A Call for Nominations and Applications

A Call for Nominations: Citation for Wellness in the Workplace Award

To acknowledge the fact that library staff are our greatest asset in building and supporting sustainable libraries and communities, the ALA Sustainability Roundtable (SustainRT) is recognizing libraries that go above and beyond in meeting the wellness needs of their staff with the SustainRT Citation for Wellness in the Workplace.

All ALA members are invited to nominate any library who has made efforts to meet the needs of their staff in the areas of continuing education, wellness, positive work environment, unions, salaries, gender equity, pay equity initiatives, and other activities designed to improve the salaries and status of librarians and other library workers. Nominations should be submitted by March 15, 2022.

Nomination: https://bit.ly/3B7jGcw

More info: https://www.ala.org/rt/sustainrt/wellness-award

A Call for Applications: SustainRT Diversity in Sustainability Conference Stipend

The SustainRT Diversity in Sustainability Conference Stipend recognizes the importance of social equity to SustainRT and ALA, and works to support new and diverse members to overcome barriers to participating in the professional development and networking opportunities presented by ALA conferences and events. SustainRT will provide up to $500 each year to help one candidate to attend the ALA Annual Conference through the stipend which can be used for fees associated with registration, housing, meals, travel, or any other costs incurred as a result of attending the in-person or virtual conference.


The  Sustainability Round Table will offer a $500 conference stipend to a SustainRT member attending the 2022 ALA Conference. Applicants should be new and diverse voices in library sustainability or first-time attendees.

See the submission form to apply and for more info on requirements for awardees: https://bit.ly/3GRlQyl

More info: https://www.ala.org/rt/sustainrt/diversity-award

Member Monday: Jen Ripka

Welcome to Member Mondays! The first Monday of each month, we’ll feature a member of SustainRT with a short profile.

We’re super excited to continue our 2022 Member Mondays with this profile of Jen Ripka, Programming and Outreach Librarian at Indian Prairie Public Library in Darien, IL. All SustainRT members are welcomed and encouraged to follow Jen’s example and fill out our short self-nomination form in order to become featured in a future Member Monday themselves. We’re looking forward to getting to know one another a little better in hopes of strengthening our community of people committed to sustainability in our profession. Happy Member Monday!

Webinar! Communicating Sustainability in a Changing Climate: Challenges and Strategies

Register now for the webinar “Communicating Sustainability in a Changing Climate: Challenges and Strategies.”

This talk by Dr. Jennifer Carmen, Postdoctoral Associate at Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, will focus on the intersection of sustainability and climate change. It will discuss how climate change adds to new challenges to achieving sustainability, and how action on climate change can support sustainability goals.

Dr. Carmen’s research interest is in how individuals and households can support personal well-being, without harming social and environmental systems, during times of environmental change and stress. Her past projects include research on climate change education in middle school, and research with Detroit community-based organizations on how to support human health during heat events.

The webinar will be recorded and made available after the event.

Date/Time: February 24, 2022, 9:00AM Pacific/12:00PM Eastern
Hosted by ALA Sustainability Roundtable Education & Programming Committee

Member Monday: Rachel Sperling

Welcome to Member Mondays! The first Monday of each month, we’ll feature a member of SustainRT with a short profile.

We’re super excited to start off 2022 with this profile of Rachel Sperling, Librarian for Environmental Studies at Marx Science and Social Science Library | Yale University Library. All SustainRT members are welcomed and encouraged to follow Rachel’s example and fill out our short self-nomination form in order to become featured in a future Member Monday themselves. We’re looking forward to getting to know one another a little better in hopes of strengthening our community of people committed to sustainability in our profession. Happy Member Monday!

Sustainability 101 at LibLearnX

What does sustainability have to do with libraries? Why is sustainability an ALA Core Value? Why does ALA have a Sustainability Round Table? To answer these questions, we are hosting a “101” on sustainability at the LibLearnX Conference. In this 15-20 minute “shop talk” session, we’ll dig into the “triple bottom line” of sustainability to uncover why practices and decisions that are socially equitable and environmentally sound and economically feasible are in line with many library and community values.

Member Monday: Mandi Goodsett

Welcome to Member Mondays! The first Monday of each month, we’ll feature a member of SustainRT with a short profile.

We’re super excited to continue our series with this profile of Mandi Goodsett, Performing Arts & Humanities / Open Education & Copyright Librarian at Cleveland State University. All SustainRT members are welcomed and encouraged to follow Mandi’s example and fill out our short self-nomination form in order to become featured in a future Member Monday themselves. We’re looking forward to getting to know one another a little better in hopes of strengthening our community of people committed to sustainability in our profession. Happy Member Monday!

Member Monday: Beth South

Welcome to Member Mondays! The first Monday of each month, we’ll feature a member of SustainRT with a short profile.

We’re super excited to continue our series with this profile of Beth South, Assistant Librarian of Access & Tech Services/Archivist at Indiana University East in Richmond, IN. All SustainRT members are welcomed and encouraged to follow Beth’s example and fill out our short self-nomination form in order to become featured in a future Member Monday themselves. We’re looking forward to getting to know one another a little better in hopes of strengthening our community of people committed to sustainability in our profession. Happy Member Monday!