Greening our Libraries?

As a former librarian who helped found the American Library Association's Task Force on Environment I will, with your permission, pass your request on to their listserv in hopes active folks in the profession can get back with you on your request. There is a good strand of environmental activism and commitment in the profession including ties to the Green Press Initiative and Green textbook Initiative and Greening their conferences. We have down programs at ALA Conferences on Greening the library and pieces in their journals on selection of sources. I have not been active in the profession since 2000 since I now am immersed in other things, but I'm sure colleagues out their in librarydom can help.

All good things,
terry

Terry Link,
Director
Office of Campus Sustainability
412 Olds Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
1-517-355-1751 (land-line)
1-517-432-1090 (fax)
www.ecofoot.msu.edu

Hi Neil:

Libraries are an interesting and woefully under-utilized community resource. Amongst them I think you will find those that are leaders, some which are 'average' and some that are laggards. What we have found is that some have 'modernized' and innovated themselves to also serve as meeting centres, particularly for small business. As ecological literacy is not a common in any society, libraries do pose a great opportunity for creating a baseline of awareness. There is also the potential for a strong parent and child connection, where in essence the kids are the enablers. Librarians are great at finding information although they are not there to interpret it or tell you what it means. We are working with the librarian system to diffuse the small business guide "Going for the Green", which you already know about. You may want to contact your provincial library association and have a chat with them to see what they are doing.

Cheers Have fun over the silly season.
L L. E. Johannson, B.E.S. (Hons), M.Sc.,

FRSA President E2 Management Corporation (E2M)
113 Mountainview Road South
Georgetown, Ontario CANADA L7G 4K2
Tel: (1) 905 - 873 - 9484
Fax: (1) 905 - 873 - 3054
Email: [email protected]

In particular, are library collections being updated with resources for green living and sustainable communities? Having worked in a public library system for 25 years, I know that the librarians selecting books for the collection are always glad to have input from the public about titles available and their recommendations as to which are best. It's a public library and the public should be part of the input as to selections for the collection. If so, what principles and practices are librarians using to guide their acquisitions? Librarians also rely on professional tools including review services, recommendations in other literature (lists of books included in books) and sources (other publications such as popular topical magazines, newspapers, media in general), and their readers. But again public input is key. Also, to what extent are libraries doing public education to help the general public understand and reduce their impact on the environment? Finally, do librarians any particular support to help foster green collections and educational programming? Some libraries (two branch libraries in Lincoln, Nebraska, for instance) were designed and built as "green" with choices made in building materials, energy systems, site orientation and other aspects to demonstrate the move toward green buildings. The libraries have signs near all of the various materials, systems and features that are green identifying and briefly explaining each. As for public programming, again it's sometimes a matter of the public identifying needs for programming and the library following up on the public's input. Best to work with local groups and organizations in planning, publicizing and doing the programming.

Joyce Coppinger

ReBuild Associates
Lincoln NE 68506-6001
[email protected]

One of the organizations I volunteer with had several boxes of books on various sustainability issues just sitting around and taking up space. Our director approached the staff of a centalized library system that houses and sends out books to smaller libraries in several counties throughout my state about donating the collection to them. Needless to say, the staff at the centralized library system was thrilled and dedicated several hours of staff time to cataloging the collection, etc. They subsequently got a grant to hold discussions on sustainability issues in many of the smaller libraries in our rural area and have sent out flyers telling other libraries about the availability of the collection. I think budgets are so tight and books are so expensive that most libraries don't have much money to acquire new books. I will be donating many of my books dealing with sustainable development, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, entrepreneurship, environmental issues, global warming, etc. to that collection so a lot of people throughout the region can have access to them. I can check them out myself if I need to refer back to them. I think libraries are wonderful underutilized resources, particularly in the rural areas, and have found the librarian in my nearest small town to be open to suggestions and welcome ideas on ways people can use the library to the fullest extent possible.

Nancy Adams

The King County Library system, Seattle, WA, has green content, they have a green page-link below. http://www.kcls.org/research/infogreen/ If you're interested in building, the King County Library system also has a strategic construction plan to rebuild all the libraries in King County which contains a Q&A section on the bond and addresses financial information on the bonds and construction. Look for the strategic plan download. It was too large to attach. However, I was surprised not to find anything in the contruction documents or project planning that talks about building green, although I have observed that the buildings are being constructed with green features. I am surprised they have not talked about this in any of the documents links. There could be more advertising of the library system's green features. http://www.kcls.org/bond/faqs.cfm

I hope you find this useful.
Kirsten Weinmeister

Kirsten Weinmeister
Grants/Recycling Coordinator
City of Snoqualmie
Public Works Department
38194 S.E. Stearns Road
Post Office Box 987
Snoqualmie, WA 98065
425-831-4919 extension 23
Fax: 425-831-4798

In the UK, many libraries are becoming more green by supplying jute or cotton bags for people to carry their books in rather than plastic bags. Academic libraries are increasingly using e-books and e-journals to reduce storage space. Josephine Butler College library in Durham has just started a green library project, so that it has a variety of resources on environmental and ethical topics such as peak oil, climate change, Fairtrade. So far, the most popular aspect of the project has been obtaining films such as 'Escape from Suburbia' and 'Greasy Loot, Palm oil production in Indonesia'.

Regards,
Toby Walton

An inspirational story about an entire green library set to open next spring in the City of Highland, San Bernardino County, California: Highland's Library and Environmental Learning Center has a rooftop garden, solar tubes for natural lighting, flooring made from recycled tires, and 30 other green building elements that add up to a gold LEED rating, currently the only public building at this level in the state. The design is inspired not only all the green elements but the space itself wavy walls, walkways between aquariums, fun windows, vibrant colors... They've done a beautiful job. Literally awesome. I understand it was designed by San Bernardino County architects, who got LEED certification first. Not sure of the details, but I heard the County Supervisors decided in response to a lawsuit that all new public buildings in the county will be built green. It sets a great precedent. They gathered their money from a number of sources, including grants supporting green building and grants to enrich depressed areas. The county and state are major funders, plus contributions from local organizations. Our part is to create interpretive signage that includes markers to identify all the LEED-certified elements, which we'll make from recycled glass to match the glass blocks used throughout the building. Other signs ID plants and animals, show how compost works, explain the problem with e-waste... Some displays are geared for toddlers (match mommy with baby animals), some for older kids and teens. We're thrilled to be involved! Terre Highland Environmental Education Coalition There is a contact name on the website for the library project. http://www.h-e-e-c.org/

US Green Building Council (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED ratings): http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19

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