Creating The Sustainable Public Library

Transform any public library into a truly sustainable organization—not just environmentally sustainable, but economically and socially sustainable as well—by following the directions and practices described in this book. Sustainability in the context of ensuring the long-term success of a public library involves more than green initiatives and conserving resources: "sustainability" for libraries also describes efforts to increase their institutions' relevance to their communities as well as to make their programs socially equitable and economically feasible—a substantial challenge. This book is a powerful tool that public librarians, library directors, and library managers can use to create a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) sustainable library, to lead sustainability initiatives in their community, and to identify and adjust their current practices that are considered sustainable to improve performance. The chapters focus on the elements of library sustainability separately, first addressing economic and environmental sustainability before examining the aspects of internal (workforce) and external (community-facing) social sustainability. The author presents numerous case studies throughout the book that enable readers to better understand how the sustainability principles described play out in the real world.

Transform any public library into a truly sustainable organization--not just environmentally sustainable, but economically and socially sustainable as well--by following the directions and practices described in this book. Sustainability in the context of ensuring the long-term success of a public library involves more than green initiatives and conserving resources: "sustainability" for libraries also describes efforts to increase their institutions' relevance to their communities as well as to make their programs socially equitable and economically feasible--a substantial challenge. This book is a powerful tool that public librarians, library directors, and library managers can use to create a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) sustainable library, to lead sustainability initiatives in their community, and to identify and adjust their current practices that are considered sustainable to improve performance. The chapters focus on the elements of library sustainability separately, first addressing economic and environmental sustainability before examining the aspects of internal (workforce) and external (community-facing) social sustainability. The author presents numerous case studies throughout the book that enable readers to better understand how the sustainability principles described play out in the real world.

Public libraries, through their mission, vision, and position in the community, play a significant part in building community sustainability and are already positioned to serve as a “backbone support organization” for collective impact initiatives.

It is difficult to turn on the television or read a news story today without learning about how green and sustainable practices are being implemented throughout society. Libraries are not exempt from these broader trends. In some cases, libraries and librarians have been at the forefront of these efforts. Greening Libraries provides library professionals with a collection of articles and papers that serve as a portal to understanding a wide range of green and sustainable practices within libraries and the library profession. The book's articles come from a variety of perspectives on a wide range of topics related to green practices, sustainability and the library profession. Greening Libraries offers an overview of important aspects of the growing green library movement, including, but not limited to, green buildings, alternative energy resources, conservation, green library services and practices, operations, programming, and outreach.

This book will show you how to harness sustainable thinking to move forward with confidence into the unknown.

"In 2019, the American Library Association added sustainability to its Core Values of Librarianship to foster community awareness and engagement on climate change, resilience, environmental impact, and a sustainable future. The Sustainable Library's Cookbook collects a series of engaging activities for academic libraries interested in implementing sustainability practices in three different areas: Applying Sustainability Thinking and Development. Recipes are focused on applying sustainable thinking processes to library functions and services, including open educational resources, seed libraries, and reusable supplies and resources. Teaching, Learning, and Research Services. This section contains lesson plans, learning guides, research activities, and projects that focus on sustainability in disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, from STEM data literacy to campus sustainability projects to Indigenous environmental justice. Community Engagement, Outreach, and Partnerships. Recipes emphasize how community partnerships and outreach can be effective ways to inform and foster sustainability practices in the library and beyond, including environmental movie nights, bike-lending programs, and ideas for sustainable fashion. Many of these recipes include learning outcomes and goals from ACRL's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, disciplinary focuses, and the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This cookbook provides librarians with a series of best and effective practices, case studies, and approaches to support sustainability efforts in the library and collaboratively across campus"--

This publication examines aspects of reducing the ecological footprint in libraries’ workaday operations as well as the social role and responsibility of libraries as leaders in environmental sustainability. The theoretical background and practical applications of contributions made by worldwide libraries to the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are discussed. General articles and research studies from Finland, Germany, Portugal, and Brazil illuminate libraries’ contributions to the SDGs. Case studies from Sweden, Kenya, Germany, Ukraine, China, and Serbia highlight challenges and opportunities in implementing sustainable approaches in public libraries. Examples of best practice from academic libraries in Hong Kong, Cameroon, Germany, Uganda, USA and Kenya, are presented. All papers published in this book are selected from the best papers of the ENSULIB Satellite Meeting 2017 in Berlin, the ENSULIB/Public Libraries Section’s Open Session at the IFLA Conference 2017 in Poland, and from the IFLA Green Library Award 2017. All articles are written in English.

Library workers at all types of organizations, as well as LIS students learning about this newest Core Value of Librarianship, will find this book an easy-to-digest introduction to what staff at a range of libraries have accomplished in incorporating sustainability into their decision making and professional practices. In addition, a discussion about the role of economics and sustainability will challenge readers to stretch in new ways to positively impact their communities. As a core value of librarianship, sustainability is not an end point but a mindset, a lens through which operational and outreach decisions can be made. And it extends beyond an awareness of the roles that libraries can play in educating and advocating for a sustainable future. As the programs and practices in this resource demonstrate, sustainability can also encompass engaging with communities in discussions about resilience, regeneration, and social justice. Inspiring yet assuredly pragmatic, the many topics explored in this book edited by members of ALA's Sustainability Round Table and ALA’s Special Task Force on Sustainability include a discussion of why sustainability matters to libraries and their user communities; real-life examples of sustainability programming, transformative community partnerships, collective responses for climate resilience, and green building practices; lessons learned and recommendations from library workers who have been active in putting sustainability into practice; the intersection of sustainability with the work of equity, diversity, and inclusion; suggestions regarding the revision of library and information science curriculum in light of the practical need to build community resilience; an examination of how libraries’ efforts to support Doughnut Economics can bolster the United Nations' work on the Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to address the global impacts of climate change; and potential collaborators for future sustainability-related initiatives.