The Sustainability Issue

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 as a salve and an appeal.

When our team began planning this issue, we wanted to show the many entry points for essential and overdue sustainability work—whether environmental, financial, or social justice–based—so that libraries can help their communities adapt to uncertain futures.

Our coverage spans from individual librarians to groups taking collective action, from institutions making small commitments to those shifting strategic priorities. We share how patrons are communing with nature and rallying around a larger cultural movement. And we show that libraries—from bootstrapped rural outposts to urban systems with big budgets, elementary schools to research universities, and every kind in between—are discovering new ways to act.

In this package you’ll find:

We hope these resources and conversations assist you in both creating systemic change and taking on the “little things.”