LaRue, James; et al (1991). Libraries and the Environment. Wilson Library Bulletin, 65(6), 26-43
Three articles address issues that relate to libraries and the environment. Highlights include recycling projects; buying recycled paper products and other ecology-minded purchasing ideas; energy-efficient libraries; indoor pollution problems; a list of environmental information sources; designing library buildings; and activities that libraries can use to promote Earth Day.
Montes Baffier, Véronique; Dister, Sarah (2019). Libraries and the SDGs: how the FAO Library is translating SDGs into tangible knowledge: Poster presented at IFLA WLIC 2019, Athens, Greece.
The FAO Library has implemented a monthly e-Bulletin on specific UN and FAO events related to the SDGs. Following the Organization goals to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the library is translating SGDs into tangible knowledge for staff in HQ and the field, broadening the dissemination of FAO output worldwide with open access to developing countries and by providing direct full text access to the most up to date literature, extended bibliographies and historical documents on the SDGs.
International Federation of Library Associations; Institutions (IFLA) (2018). Libraries and the Sustainable Development Goals: A storytelling manual.
The Libraries and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -- a storytelling manual is a guide for librarians and library advocates to support you in your advocacy efforts. The Library Map of the World (LMW) team have compiled some tips and useful information to help you write compelling stories about your library activities, projects and programmes, and their impact on communities. Consequently, we would like to share your story about your library's contribution to the SDGs through the LMW website.
Dankowski, Terra (2019). Libraries as Sustenance: Distributing food in public libraries can abate hunger, waste, and even vandalism. American Libraries, 50(June 23)
The United States has a dilemma: It wastes 150,000 tons of food each day, but millions of people experience hunger and food insecurity. Libraries can help to support food saving programs.
Vermeire, Geert (2020). Libraries as gardens: Creative project
Libraries as Gardens is a collective project, curated by Belgian writer and artist Geert Vermeire, and was launched at the Analogio Performance Arts Festival 2018 in Athens, exploring how gardens and libraries overlap, departing from the relation between inside/outside, involving walking, writing and site-specific practices. In the initial project in Athens in 2018 a group of international artists researched artistically how gardens and their trees can become a library in the public space of Athens, complemented with an exhibition in TAF - The Art Foundation.
Long, Sarah Ann (2000). Libraries can help build sustainable communities. American Libraries, 31(6), 7
Looks at the availability of a grant provided for librarians in the United States who wish to show their concern about the environment. The project titled 'Libraries Build Sustainable Communities' which is designed to educate librarians about the issues surrounding sustainability; Opportunities which the grant offers librarians; Use of libraries as community gathering places.
Leyrer, Katharina (2018). Libraries sow the seed of a sustainable society: A comparative analysis of IFLA Green Library Award projects 2016. In Hauke, Petra; Charney, Madeleine; Sahavirta, Harri (Hrsg.), Going green: implementing sustainable strategies in libraries around the world (S. 22-31). De Gruyter Saur. DOI: 10.1515/9783110608878-004
Loder, Michael Wescott (2010). Libraries with a future: How are academic library usage and green demands changing building designs?. College & Research Libraries, 71(4), 348-360. DOI: 10.5860/crl-37r1
Support for the modular system of building construction, touted in the second half of the 20th century as the best basis for academic library building design, appears to be waning. A study of textquotedblgreentextquotedbl libraries in 2008 revealed that not only has energy conservation become important, but that spaces designed for users rather than books have become paramount. The modular system worked particularly well for housing ever-expanding book collections, but collection growth is no longer a practical goal. Users want and need a greater variety of spaces, which purpose-built rooms are better at meeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Horng, Shih-chang (2019). Libraries working to realize UN SDG10 - Reduced Inequalities - Taipei Public Library experience: Poster presented at IFLA WLIC 2019, Athens, Greece.
Shezidao is the remotest district in Taipei City. Although persistent flooding led to several decades with no construction and development, a population of 10,000 still lives in this rundown settlement. In 2018, Taipei Public Library opened its most advanced Shezidao Intelligent Library in the area. In this facility, books are managed using RFID chips which remove the need for resident librarian services. Readers use automated book borrowing/returning machines and pick up reserved books themselves. In addition, users can select a book online from any of the 8 million volumes at 56 branch libraries throughout the city and then, through the book transfer system, it will arrive at Shezidao within seven days. Establishing the library in this disadvantaged area provides residents with an extremely convenient information provision service, reducing the inequality in access to information that has existed for many years. Because fewer resources and opportunities for learning are available in this area relative to the city center, Taipei Public Library holds English story-telling events on weekends/holidays to encourage children to read. At these events, volunteers read English picture books to children as a way of enhancing the learning environment and helping to reduce the urban-rural educational divide. This ensures everyone has the equal access to books and promotes the cause of information fairness.
Kear, Robin L. (2018). Libraries, development, and implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda: A regional workshop held in Montego Bay, 16-18 February 2017. International Information & Library Review, 50(1), 60-62. DOI: 10.1080/10572317.2018.1422906
The Global Postcards column is pleased to present a column dedicated to examining ways that libraries are promoting and supporting the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our first article, by column editor Robin L. Kear, provides a look at one of IFLA's regional workshops for their International Advocacy Program that helps libraries understand how to promote their role in development goals. Next, Roseline Bawack from the University of Yaoundé shares how academic libraries in Cameroon are working to achieve the SDGs. Then, Magnus Osahon Igbinovia and James Afe Aiyebelehin summarize the 2017 Nigerian Library Association meeting that addressed ways that libraries can support development goals.
Aytac, Selenay (2019). Library Environment Sustainability Progress Index (LESPI): Benchmarking libraries’ progress towards sustainable development: Paper presented at IFLA WLIC 2019, Athens, Greece.
IFLA’s demands to be co-custodian of the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development provides tremendous opportunity for libraries’ transformation into the future, but it comes with a huge obligation. The 2030 UN Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 specific targets addressing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. There is no doubt that we are in the phase where transformative change is necessary for libraries regarding sustainable development. However, most libraries have insufficient data to assess whether they are on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, this paper presents a “Library Environment Sustainability Progress Index” (LESPI) which can be used as a benchmarking tool for any library to assess their compliance with the goals. In order to compile the Index, the 169 concrete targets were carefully examined and 46 of them selected for inclusion in the LESPI. The proposed measure has been pilot tested with a college library in New York. This measure should be tested with another library, perhaps with a public library, to monitor the feasibility of the Index. Moreover, creating a “composite score” for three major components of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) equation as well as for the Index in general would be beneficial to make more informative comparisons in the future with other libraries.
Meschede, Christine; Henkel, Maria (2019). Library and information science and sustainable development: A structured literature review. Journal of Documentation, 75(6), 1356-1369. DOI: 10.1108/JD-02-2019-0021
Purpose: Awareness on and importance of sustainability in all aspects of our lives is becoming more and more important. The question arises, how -- not if -- scientists can contribute to a sustainable development. As information plays an important role for development, information scientists should be included in this debate. However, is there a sustainable information science or an information science of sustainability? The purpose of this paper is to perform a mapping of publications in library and information science (LIS) directly dealing with sustainability and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: A structured literature review was conducted, enhanced by bibliometric analyses. For this purpose, 102 LIS journals and conferences were considered. The authors identified 81 publications dealing with sustainability and sustainable development and analyzed the concrete contents and methodological approaches of these. Findings: A large proportion of articles could be found dealing with sustainable development and libraries. Other publications focus on information and communication technology or information systems. Only few articles deal with further topics like government, urban development or scientific output. Research limitations/implications: Sustainability and sustainable development are complex topics. This work only considers literature whose title or keywords contain the string sustainab*. Originality/value: The presented work helps to get an overview on sustainability research and activities in the LIS field and additionally, potential research gaps may be identified. The authors call for more research in this area and concrete ideas to help develop a sustainable future.
Purnik, Anton; Vasileva, Ekaterina (2018). Library as a “Point of Grow” in sustainable development society. Paper presented at IFLA WLIC 2018, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This paper emphasize the role of public libraries in sustainable development and extensive partnership on the example of an environmental project, which involved more than 1,500 participants across Russia. Citing two out of 17 main goals declared in the United Nations document “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” the authors believe that achieving of these goals will require creation of new technologies -informational and social – and the new forms of cooperation. The authors describe how the Russian State Library for Young Adults in Moscow with two other partners prepared and held the nation-wide event entitled The Day of Environmental Knowledge. It took place on April 15, 2017, in the year, which was declared in Russia as the Year of the Environment. They outline all stages of the project starting from inviting the potential participants, processing the applications, inviting press, and describing the events at the places to the follow-up events and its impact on cooperation between the libraries-participants and local communities. The authors believe that modern libraries have the authority and means to promote textquotedblpeaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable developmenttextquotedbl.
Khan, Jennifer (2015). Library at the dock. Büchereiperspektiven, 2, 24-25
Das Hafenviertel Docklands ist Melbournes jüngster Stadtteil, der rasch wächst und sich zu einer wichtigen wirtschaftlichen Drehscheibe entwickelt hat. Die „Library at The Dock“, die Bibliothek am Hafen, ist eines der neuesten und ambitioniertesten Infrastrukturprojekte in Melbourne.
Kang, Qi (2018). Library directors’ concerns and attitudes towards going green and sustainability in China: An unexplored area. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 43(5), e1-17. DOI: 10.1177/0961000618818874
Environmental issues are one of today’s growing concerns. Numerous associations, organizations and individuals are waging an active world preservation campaign. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine an important aspect of library directors’ attitudes towards environmental protection and the level of their concerns and green practices regarding sustainable development that has generally been overlooked in the literature. Multiple means of data collection (interviews, observation and document analysis) involving 14 libraries in China were conducted between March and May 2015; seven main thematic areas emerged from the data, such as: levels of awareness and commitment to sustainability issues in Chinese libraries are relatively low, and the current efficiency of facilities and operations have been seriously wasted. These findings indicate that the main priority of the library has been to attain economic and social development rather than environmental sustainability, while ignoring the energy costs and serious waste to some extent in the rapid development process of the Chinese library. The author notes just from observation of daily practices that there is definitely room for improvement to minimize the negative impact of their activities on the environment. This paper discusses for the first time the library directors’ concerns and attitudes towards “going green” and sustainability. The ideas are expected to inform and improve library directors’ environmental consciousness and sustainable practices, as well as open new vistas for research into the economic, social and environmental sustainability of library information services. How to achieve the social, economic and environmental requirements of present and future generations from libraries, especially library environmental sustainability is discussed intensively.
Stephens, Chuck; Boer, Jeroen de; Willingham, Steve (2018). Library makerspaces: The complete guide. Lanham and Boulder and New York and London: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN: 9781442277403
The Complete Guide is a road map for libraries of any size, with any budget, seeking to redesign or repurpose space or develop maker style programming. This book covers developing makerspaces, writing grant proposals, and helping staff and administrators learn about the technologies and processes involved.
Inklebarger, Timothy (2016). Library to farm to table. American Libraries, 47(11/12), 18-19
The article reports the move by public libraries in the U.S. as of November 2016 to offer food production programs and advance the concept of sustainability and education. Also cited are the move by South Sioux City (Nebraska) Public Library director David Mixdorf to launch the library's first community garden, the city's Voices for Food program, and the Read and Feed Teaching and Demonstration Garden at Rancho Cordova library system in California.
Lawrence, Kate (2012). Library-sponsored sustainable living outreach in Denver. In Antonelli, Monika; McCullough, Mark (Hrsg.), Greening libraries (S. 119-126). Library Juice Press
Rogers, Katherine (2019). Little Free Libraries: 10th anniversary finds the movement 90,000 strong and growing. Catalyst Magazine, August 31
The non-profit Little Free Library (LFL) was started in 2009 by Todd Bol in Hudson, Wisconsin. Thinking of his mother, a bibliophilic teacher, he built a miniature one-room schoolhouse and put it on a post in his front yard. He filled the schoolhouse with books. Bol encouraged his friends and neighbors to take the books and leave any of their own, to share with others. The schoolhouse was a success and led to Bol building more to give to these friends and neighbors.
Tinarat, Sirirat (2013). Loads of scraps become precious raw materials: The Kasetsart University Eco-Library in Bangkok, a prototype for the next generation of sustainable buildings in Thailand. In Hauke, Petra; Latimer, Karen; Werner, Klaus Ulrich (Hrsg.), The Green Library - Die grüne Bibliothek (S. 213-228). De Gruyter Saur. DOI: 10.18452/2304
Being famous for Agricultural Science, Kasetsart University is commonly known as “Green Campus”. As a part of the long-term project “Kasetsart Loves the Environment”, the idea for founding an eco-library was introduced in 2010. Two years later, the first Eco-Library of Thailand was successfully completed thanks to teamwork from two departments: the office of the University Library, which wants to provide a learning area that is open to the general public, and the Scrap Lab of the Architecture Faculty, which mainly works on developing ecofriendly products. Further sponsors are local furniture manufacturers and other institutions who regularly deliver their offcuts to the Scrap Lab “Factory”. Here, loads of scraps become precious “raw materials”, challenging the instructors and students to spark their creativity for new product design. The number of visitors and on-going projects indicate that the Eco-Library is not a superficial idea that pops up, lasts for a while and then fades away. Rather, it is growing and supporting the main library, which is actively participating in the BEAT 2010 – Building Energy Award of Thailand. Both organizations are moving forward, following their green concepts to strengthen the policy of the university – environmentalism. Die Kasetsart Universität ist nicht nur wegen ihrer Agrarwissenschaften bekannt, sondern auch für ihren „Grünen Campus“. Als Teil des langfristig angelegten Projekts „Kasetsart Loves the Environment” wurden im Jahr 2010 die ersten Ideen zur Gründung einer Umweltbibliothek entwickelt. Zwei Jahre später wurde die erste Umweltbibliothek Thailands als Gemeinschaftsprojekt erfolgreich fertiggestellt. Beteiligt waren die Universitätsbibliothek, die einen Ort zum Lernen für die Allgemeinheit anbieten wollte, sowie das Scrap Lab der Fakultät für Architektur, das hauptsächlich daran arbeitet, umweltfreundliche Produkte zu entwickeln. Weitere Sponsoren und Förderer sind örtliche Möbelhersteller und andere Institutionen, die ihre Fabrikabfälle regelmäßig der Scrap Lab ‚Fabrik‘ abliefern. Die Abfälle und Altstoffe werden hier zu wertvollen Werkstoffen. Hier ist nun die Kreativität der Studenten und Dozenten gefragt, um daraus neue Produkte zu entwickeln. Die Menge der Besucher und laufenden Projekte zeigt, dass die Umweltbibliothek keine oberflächliche Idee ist, die auftaucht, eine Weile besteht und wieder in der Versenkung verschwindet. Ganz im Gegenteil. Die Umweltbibliothek wächst weiter und unterstützt die Hauptbibliothek, die aktiv am BEAT 2010 – Building Energy Award of Thailand teilgenommen hat. Beide Bibliotheken streben weiter voran und verfolgen ihre grünen Konzepte, um die Strategie der Universität – den Umweltschutz – zu stärken.
Please send comments, additions or suggestions to the bibliography to Beate Hörning.
The Bibliography Green Library is created in cooperation with the IFLA Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Section (ENSULIB).
Vortrags-und Lehrtätigkeit in Deutschland und im Ausland
Vorsitzende der IFLA Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Special Interest Group (ENSULIB)
Herausgeberin und Autorin zahlreicher bibliothekspraktischer und -wissenschaftlicher Veröffentlichungen: Themenschwerpunkte: Publikationswesen, "Green Library", internationale Netzwerkarbeit