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The Conference on Information Management organized annually by the Spanish Society for Scientific Documentation and Information (SEDIC) was held in Madrid, the capital of Spain, on April 27, 28 and 29. The conference took place in the National Library of Spain and the workshops in the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. That the program was printed on seed paper already said a lot about the theme of the conference.

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There is a commonly known expression that goes ``When an elder person passes a way, a library burns to the ground''. In many African cultures, elder people play a vital role in the community: they are the custodians of tradition, the rock of the family unit and the bearers of wisdom. The library is of similar importance. It is a public space where knowledge is housed and created, and a place where people go to learn. A core principle of a library is that it is accessible and relevant to the context in which it exists, otherwise it may not attract the people for whom it is intended. Libraries do not have to be framed as the place of deafening silence and stringent rules. They can be a meeting ground for curious minds, a space of innovation and reflection, a place of learning and growing. What form can the library take? What role can it play in its respective neighbourhood and community? What does sustainability look like in such a place and why is that even important? A project conceived and implemented between Goethe-Institut and the French Institute of South Africa with the support of the Franco-German fund sought to explore the very question: how can libraries practice sustainability?

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The work of libraries is per se sustainable within the meaning of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): by providing open and accessible public spaces to everyone, by lending out books and other media, and by engaging in literacy education -- to name just a few -- they contribute to environmental, social and economic sustainability. What is sometimes less discussed however, is that the SDGs can also be a great tool for political advocacy. The reason is the following: While the SDGs are a global joint declaration of intent, their implementation takes place at the lower political levels: at European, national/ federal, and local levels. The SDGs are therefore a theme that almost every political person will have stumbled upon at some point during his/her political career. Thus, libraries engaging with the SDGs and making it visible -- through their website or social media, but also through exchanges with local politicians -- show that they can talk the ``language'' of politics, that they play a crucial societal role and that they engage in ongoing political debate. In this paper the author will look at examples of how libraries can showcase their societal relevance through the SDGs and how they can approach politicians at every political level. It will also look at political sustainability/ education for sustainable development strategies in Germany at national, federal states (``Länderebene'') and local level and analyse to which extent libraries have been recognised as valuable partners on the political level and where this is still lacking.

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Unprecedented. Heartbreaking. Heartwarming. These three words have been most prominent in my mind as I observed and consulted with my colleagues, near and far, as they make tough decisions about how to keep their communities and staff healthy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the reality set in as to what was going to be necessary to ``flatten the curve,'' I watched library directors go through a fast-paced version of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's ``stages of grief'': denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Library leaders were listening intently to public health officials, government officials, stakeholders, and their own intuition. First, we had to acknowledge that we all need to pull in the same direction. But close the library? People need the library, they rely on it, we have advocated so hard to help funders understand that libraries are essential in people's lives. If we close, what message are we sending?

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As a reoccurring feature on the Sustainability Roundtable blog, we will post reviews of books related to sustainability.

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There is growing concern that a variety of factors threaten the sustainability of academic libraries: developing and preserving print and digital collections, supplying and supporting rapidly changing technological and networking infrastructure, providing free services, maintaining growing costs of library buildings, and lowering libraries' ecological footprint. This paper discusses the multidimensional issues of sustainability in academic libraries and identifies needs for designing an integrated framework for sustainable strategies in academic libraries. Additionally, the paper presents a synthesis of existing literature on the increasingly popular topic of "green libraries'' and prepares a background toward developing a framework for sustainable strategies in academic libraries.

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Services, buildings, logistics, IT-equipment and much more – that is the library of today. These items are normally viewed from an economical point of view in a library’s yearly budget, but have libraries ever considered that they also have an impact on a library’s ecological sustainability? When you want to observe where and how ecological sustainability occurs in a library you should go beyond a purely economic analysis. By creating conditions for sustainable development, adding eco-efficiency as a measuring tool and generally acting in an environmentally friendly manner, library staff can assist in realizing the sustainability of the library. Dienstleistungen, Gebäude, Logistik, IT und vieles mehr – das ist die Bibliothek von heute. Normalerweise werden diese Elemente von einem ökonomischen Standpunkt im Rahmen eines Jahresbudgets betrachtet; doch wurde jemals daran gedacht, dass diese Themen auch einen ökologischen Effekt auf die Nachhaltigkeit einer Bibliothek haben können? Wenn man herausfinden möchte, wo und wie in einer Bibliothek auf ökologische Nachhaltigkeit Wert gelegt wird, muss man über die ökonomische Analyse hinausgehen. Die Einführung von Kriterien für nachhaltige Entwicklung, zusätzliche Eco-Effizienz als Messinstrument und das allgemeine umweltfreundliche Verhalten können helfen, die Nachhaltigkeit von Bibliotheken sichtbar werden zu lassen.

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Abstract: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals1 play a growing significance in the work of public libraries in Denmark. This article highlights national and local projects, points out learnings and discusses a framework for getting started working with the SDGs, including what skills library professionals need to achieve these goals. Zusammenfassung: Die Nachhaltigkeitsziele der Vereinten Nationen spielen eine immer wichtigere Rolle bei der Arbeit Öffentlicher Bibliotheken in Dänemark. Dieser Artikel beleuchtet nationale und lokale Projekte, zeigt Erfahrungen auf und erörtert die Rahmenbedingungen für den Einstieg in die Arbeit mit den SDGs, einschließlich der Fähigkeiten, die Bibliothekare benötigen, um diese Ziele zu erreichen.

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More and more children are worried about what climate change means for their future. The media often focuses on the negative aspects and the failures to find solutions, resulting in children and young adults experiencing climate anxiety. Anxious and worried young people might succumb to their fears, and in the worst case, be paralyzed by it. If we want the younger generations to participate in finding solutions for the future we need to give them hope instead. That was one of the reasons for founding our publishing company, KRABAT, in 2019: we want to give children and young adults fiction that can contribute to creating hope for their future.

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Increasingly severe weather, food scarcity caused by droughts and lack of biodiversity, intense heat, record-setting wildfires, and sunny-day flooding are all acute indicators that climate change is here and is already a deadly and costly aspect of mod- ern life. As we seek solutions to slow the effects and manage the immediate impacts of climate change, we find the answers entwined with some of the thorniest issues of our time: economics and inequities in society. Our ability to pull together as neighbors, adapt in the face of what is already happening while lessening the severity of the impacts for future generations will require us to think differently, to adopt a new mindset, and to consider decisions -- large and small -- through the lens of sustainability. Libraries of all types are perfectly positioned to help with this work and to lead in this work. We must step up in this moment and find ways to lead by example and inspire those we serve with and for to do the same. This briefing aims to unpack the concept of sustainability, providing insights and examples for meaningful change that can provide guidance and hope for library leaders, regardless of your role at the library.

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ABSTRACT: This thesis originated from an idea to study how libraries have taken sustainability into account and how to improve libraries’ sustainability. The thesis was commissioned by Central Library of Public Libraries and it was an international part of the Finnish national project Sustainable Development in Libraries that has investigated sustainability in Finnish public libraries. The aim of this study was to answer the questions what are the differences and similarities between the Finnish and the foreign libraries according to the analysis made by the survey and which of the areas: environmental management, environmental economy, reduction of environmental burden, increase of environmental awareness or environmental communication, do arise to be the best or the worst handled in libraries? This quantitative study used a descriptive survey method supported by a questionnaire. The survey was conducted in IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Helsinki in August 2012 by a web-based questionnaire. After the congress the link to the questionnaire was shared also by e-mail. As the theoretical background of the thesis was used Finnish and foreign sources concerning sustainability in libraries and environmental management. The results showed that there are still a lot of things to consider in order to improve sustainability in libraries. Major differences were not noticed between the Finnish and the foreign libraries even if the results can be seen only tentative because of the low number of respondents in the international survey. Reduction of environmental burden seemed to be the best handled area and environmental communication the worst. As a conclusion can be stated that in order to improve sustainability in libraries an own auditing system and an environmental label for libraries would be needed. Libraries should have their own environmental indicators in order to measure the state of sustainability. The commitment to sustainability should be demanded from staff that librarians could act as green educators. IFLA World Library and Information Congress could be a green event in itself. In future more research on the field of economic and social sustainability in libraries would be needed as well as research of ecological sustainability because of the low number of publications at the moment. TIIVISTELMÄ:Tämä opinnäytetyö sai alkunsa ajatuksesta tutkia, kuinka kirjastot ovat ottaneet huomioon kestävän kehityksen ja miten sitä voisi parantaa. Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin osana kansallista hanketta Kestävä kehitys kirjastoissa ja sen toimeksiantajana toimi Yleisten kirjastojen keskuskirjasto. Hanke oli jo aiemmin tutkinut suomalaisten yleisten kirjastojen kestävää kehitystä. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli saada vastaus kahteen tutkimusongelmaan: Mitä yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroja suomalaisilla ja ulkomailla kirjastoilla on kyselyistä tehtyjen analyysien mukaan ja mikä osa1alueista — ympäristöjohtaminen, ympäristötalous, ympäristökuormituksen vähentäminen, ympäristötietoisuuden lisääminen vai ympäristöviestintä, on kirjastoissa parhaiten tai huonoiten hoidettu? Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin kvantitatiivista survey-metodia, jota tuki nettipohjainen kyselylomake. Kysely toteutettiin IFLA World Library and Information –konferensissa Helsingissä elokuussa 2012. Konferenssin jälkeen linkki kyselylomakkeeseen jaettiin myös sähköpostin kautta. Opinnäytetyön teoriapohjana käytettiin niin suomalaisia kuin ulkomaisiakin lähteitä kirjastojen kestävästä kehityksestä ja ympäristöjohtamisesta. Tulokset osoittivat, että kirjastojen kestävässä kehityksessä on vielä paljon parantamisen varaa. Merkittäviä eroja suomalaisten ja ulkomaisten kirjastojen välillä ei tutkimuksen mukaan ilmennyt. Tosin kansainvälisen kyselyn vähäisen vastaajamäärän takia tuloksia voidaan pitää vain suuntaa2antavina. Ympäristökuormituksen vähentäminen vaikutti olevan parhaiten hoidettu osa-alue ja ympäristöviestintä huonoin. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että kirjastot tarvitsisivat oman auditointijärjestelmän ja ympäristömerkin parantaakseen kestävää kehitystään. Kirjastoille tulisi luoda myös omat ympäristöindikaattorit, jotta niiden kestävän kehityksen tilaa voitaisiin mitata. Kirjastojen henkilökunnalta tulisi vaatia sitoutumista kestävään kehitykseen, jotta he voisivat toimia vihreiden arvojen puolestapuhujina. IFLA-konferenssia voisi myös kehittää aiempaa enemmän vihreäksi tapahtumaksi. Tulevaisuudessa tutkimusta voitaisiin ulottaa myös kirjastojen sosiaaliseen ja taloudelliseen kestävään kehitykseen. Joka tapauksessa tutkimusten määrä tältä alalta on vielä hyvin pieni.

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Many in the library world are embracing sustainability initiatives in an effort to better serve our communities and planet. In this article the author explores the need to integrate preservation within the broader approach to library sustainability, as well as the challenges presented by sustainable preservation practices. The author addresses concerns including reducing the amount of waste produced, recycling options, and availability of environmentally friendly supplies through the presentation of a case study. In addition, the article further explores the complexities of sustainable preservation by promoting continued discussion on finding the balance between accepted preservation best practices and emerging trends in sustainable solutions.

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The world faces global ecological systems challenges of unprecedented severity and threat. The scientific reality of climate change has been politicized; President Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Climate Accords and the action has moved city and state leaders to offset this maneuver. The role of public libraries as hubs for reliable information, learning, and community building is ever more critical to our future resilience and sustainability.

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There's no arguing that we all need to do more to protect our planet and promote environmental sustainability practices. We're not just talking about individuals; institutions and companies all have a responsibility to create sustainable initiatives and reduce the damage on our planet so that it can continue to be a safe place for future generations. While many organizations are still figuring out their sustainability goals, public libraries are ahead of the curve. Whether it's hiring environmentalists in residence, pursuing their LEED certification or reducing their carbon footprint by embracing digital resources, libraries showcase many examples of environmentally friendly practices. 

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Purpose This paper aims to propose a model which serves to illustrate that a number of factors are responsible for, and contribute to, the different forms of sustainability of digital information services. It also seeks to identify some areas of information research and their interrelationship in the context of sustainability of digital information services. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on critical analysis of a range of research and policy documents, and an environment scan, in different aspects of sustainability of information systems and services. Recent and relevant past research studies as well as some relevant government policies and initiatives have been critically analyzed in order to identify various factors that are said to contribute to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of information services. Findings It is noted that the sustainability of information has not been studied within the mainstream information science research. However, several previous research studies have produced findings and models that can be used to achieve some aspects of sustainability of information. It is also noted that various parameters of sustainability are inter-related and hence a proper research agenda has to be prepared, and concerted research efforts are needed in order to be able to develop and manage sustainable digital information services. Practical implications A model has been proposed showing the various factors to be studied for achieving the economic, social and environmental sustainability of information services. Interrelations among the different factors and their implications for sustainability of digital information systems services are also discussed. Originality/value The model is expected to open new vistas for research in the economic, social and environmental sustainability of digital information systems and services. It will develop new tools, technologies and applications for building sustainable information systems and services appropriate for the digital era.

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About a year ago I was talking to the chief sustainability officer at the University of Utah about my work as a librarian, and she made a surprising suggestion: ``Why don't you come work with us for a while?''

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In 2015, the UN adopted 17 goals for the Agenda for Sustainable Development. The library's work is visible in all the primary goals, particularly with respect to public access to information, technology, and lifelong learning. Libraries are at the intersection between culture, education and lifelong learning, public health, and social work. The Norwegian Parliament adopted the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) as a foundation for regional and municipal planning. SDGs are also incorporated in the Strategy for Libraries (2020--2023). In connection with the Strategy, the National Library of Norway (NB) allocating funding for projects aimed at the development of public libraries and special libraries. The authorities want people to enjoy and participate in outdoor life and trials. This improves health and quality of life, and it is a central part of the Norwegian cultural heritage. In the last years, it has become popular to bring the library to people enjoying the outdoors. People can encounter both books and literary activities when out in nature or at a cabin far from the public library. Through the project and development funds and the celebration of National Book Year 2019, and measures related to the Strategy, the NB has supported projects for open-air libraries. This makes public libraries more visible and available to people and will reach new user groups and promote a sustainable society. Several of the SDGs are utilized through the development and use of new methods for creating open-air libraries. 14 projects are presented to show the importance of bringing the library to people enjoying the outdoors.

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The article describes the role of libraries in promoting sustainability. It is asserted that libraries should choose to create, manage and promote an environment that supports the health and sustainability of human beings. The West Vancouver Memorial Library in British Columbia manages its resources through its Green Building Operations Policy.