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Illustration: David Alvarado When it comes to sustainability, “little things add up.” That’s what science librarian René Tanner—one of the dozens of librarians and experts whose actions American Libraries highlights in our Sustainability Issue—tells us. At a time when climate change seems impervious to the realities of workplace budgets and staff bandwidth, Tanner’s words ring […]
In 1979, Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library became one of the first libraries to start a tool lending program. Today, library patrons can choose from dozens of household options, from lawn mowers to miter saws, cold-press juicers to knife sharpeners. Public libraries continue to adopt this model, with Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library launching its first tool […]
Photo: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection With the acceleration of human-driven climate change, libraries are playing an increased role in helping their communities navigate environmental calamities. The downtown public library in Asheville, North Carolina, for instance, was a beacon of connectivity after flooding from Hurricane Helene disrupted the area’s Wi-Fi service in September […]
1989ALA creates the Task Force on the Environment, timed with Earth Day’s 20th anniversary in 1990. The task force is now part of the Sustainability Round Table (SustainRT). 1990ALA introduces Environmental Issues to its Policy Manual, urging librarians and library governing boards to “collect and provide information [to patrons] on the condition of our Earth, its […]
At nearly every talk I’ve given on climate change and libraries over roughly a decade, someone in the audience asks how I remain hopeful in the face of climate scientists’ predictions. I am not, I clarify, hopeful that we will turn the tide on the impacts of climate change—at least not in my lifetime. But […]
Greening your library with limited resources and lukewarm buy-in might seem overwhelming. But sustainability is also about committing to small changes. Here’s a list of low-lift ideas that libraries of any type or size can start incorporating. Organize a swap. Sul Ross State University Library in Alpine, Texas, hosted a clothing exchange for students, while […]
Summer reading program participants at Montgomery County (Md.) Public Libraries choose brand-new books to take home, courtesy of Friends of the Library, Montgomery County. Photo: Jason Turner/Montgomery County (Md.) Public Libraries Summer reading program prizes are a fun way to spark children’s participation. But those prizes often consist of nonrecyclable plastic items that—once the fun has […]
Patrons of Thomas County (Ga.) Public Library System use litter cleanup kits they checked out. The initiative, launched in 2020, has been popular with groups of all sizes.Photo: Keep Thomas County Beautiful Nearly 50 billion pieces of litter are scattered along US roadways and waterways, according to a 2020 study by the nonprofit Keep America […]
Items from the Greenpoint collection, including a newspaper, a photo of an implosion of natural gas storage tanks, and an award presented to Greenpoint Against Smell and Pollution. Photos: Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library, Brooklyn Collection Greenpoint, New York, a historically working-class Polish immigrant community, sits at the confluence of the East River and Newtown Creek, […]
Human visitors explore the butterfly garden at Kokomo–Howard County (Ind.) Public Library’s South branch. Photo: Kokomo–Howard County (Ind.) Public Library When members of the Howard County (Ind.) Master Gardener Association became enchanted by the idea of creating a local butterfly habitat, their first stop was Kokomo–Howard County Public Library (KHCPL). Not for books and information […]
ALA Headquarters Move After 57 years on East Huron Street in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, ALA headquarters relocated to Michigan Plaza at 225 N. Michigan Avenue. ALA Welcomes New Executive Director Tracie D. Hall began on February 24 as the American Library Association’s (ALA) new executive director (ED). The 10th ED—and the first female African-American […]
Batesville (Ind.) Intermediate School students held a read-a-thon to raise money for the nonprofit Grain of Rice Project. Photo: Batesville (Ind.) Intermediate School In 2019, Batesville (Ind.) Intermediate School began a book club using selections inspired by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the organization’s blueprint for addressing global challenges like poverty and […]
A worker installs solar panels on the roof of Ledding Library in Milwaukie, Oregon. Photo: Katie Newell/Ledding Library in Milwaukie, Oregon Sarah Preskitt has lived in Alaska for almost 40 years—and seen its climate change in ways the Lower 48’s hasn’t. “We used to joke that you had to arrange your Halloween costume over your […]
In 1956, Abraham Maslow published a seminal paper on the influence our physical surroundings have on us. Participants viewed photographs of people’s faces and evaluated them based on different attributes. Maslow wanted to test how people reacted to this content while located in different physical environments. Some viewed the images while seated in a beautiful […]
Julia Alvarez Photo: Bill Eichner Like many Dominican-American writers of her generation, Julia Alvarez has drawn inspiration from the Dominican Republic’s history (such as the legacy of dictator Rafael Trujillo, in her novel In the Time of the Butterflies) and her experience as a newcomer in the US (How the García Girls Lost Their Accents). […]
