Libraries and Sustainability: Programs and Practices for Community Impact

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.

René Tanner is the Science Librarian and Head of Research Services for Olin Library at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She is a former chair of the American Library Association’s Sustainability Round Table and a recent co-chair of the American Library Association's Special Task Force on Sustainability. She has previously published on the topic of seed libraries and their importance in the development of food appreciation and local knowledge of food crops.

Adrian K. Ho is the director of digital scholarship at the University of Kentucky Libraries in Lexington. He was a member of the American Library Association Special Task Force on Sustainability and is a current member of the American Library Association Sustainability Round Table. He has given presentations about libraries, sustainability, and resilience.

Monika Antonelli is an outreach librarian and professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is the co-editor of the book Greening Libraries, which in 2013 received the Best Business Book award at the Green Book Festival. Her article “The Green Library Movement: An Overview and Beyond” was recently translated into Russian and published in Nauchniye I Tekhnicheskie Biblioteki. She has earned permaculture certification, and currently serves on her university’s Environmental Committee.

Rebekkah Smith Aldrich (MLS, LEED AP) is Executive Director, Mid-Hudson Library System (New York). Her work has focused on library leadership, governance, marketing, and facility design, all with an eye toward inspiring financial investment in libraries. She is the sustainability columnist for Library Journal, cochair of the New York Library Association’s Sustainability Initiative, and a founding member of the American Library Association’s Sustainability Round Table. Named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker, she is a frequent national presenter and writer on the topic of leading libraries forward in smart, practical, and effective ways.