From zero-waste events to upcycling to refreshments, how we choose to carry out our work in libraries says a lot about our values. We can’t just pay lip service to sustainability—we need to practice what we’re talking about! This webinar will be an inspiring discussion with a panel of practitioners who have found ways to design, implement, and evaluate library programs using frameworks that better represent their libraries' values, such as the triple bottom line definition of sustainability and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Presented by:

• Rebekkah Smith Aldrich (MLS, LEED AP), Executive Director, Mid-Hudson Library System (NY), Co-founder/Current President, Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI), and author
• Mandi Goodsett, Performing Arts & Humanities Librarian / OER & Copyright Advisor, Cleveland State University (OH),  ALA Sustainability Roundtable Coordinator, and co-author, “Sustainable Event Planning for Libraries and Library Organizations” in Libraries & Sustainability: Programs and Practices for Community Impact
• Evan Meszaros, Research & Engagement Librarian, Case Western Reserve University (OH), ALA Sustainability Round Table and ACRL Science & Technology Section, and co-author, “Sustainable Event Planning for Libraries and Library Organizations” in Libraries & Sustainability: Programs and Practices for Community Impact
• Hazel Onsrud, Adult Services Librarian, Curtis Memorial Library (ME)

Access recording

• View Webinar Recording (You will be prompted to sign in to our free Course Catalog.)

Webinar attachments

• View slides (pdf)
  
• View chat (xls)
• View captions (txt)
• Series Learner Guide (doc) Use alone or with others to extend your learning. 

Related resources and links

• Sustainability in Libraries: A Call to Action (pdf)
• Council Report on ALA Core Values Task Force (pdf), June 2023
• PLA webinar recording, Capturing Library Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals with Project Outcome
• Libraries & sustainability : programs and practices for community impact, book with chapter by Mandi Goodsett and Evan Meszaros
• The righteous mind : why good people are divided by politics and religion, by Jonathan Haidt
• Visual links and intro resources on climate impacts
• NOAA State Climate Summaries
• Films for Action
• What will climate feel like in 60 years?
• Project Drawdown, Drawdown Solutions Library
• En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator
• Data Directory, Metrics for Health
  
• Stability Calculator, Goodwill
• UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Curtis Memorial Library - Library of Things (be sure to check out the "how to" videos at the bottom of the page, for those interested in starting their own Library of Things collection)
  
• Resources - Sustainable Libraries Inititiative
• Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Section, IFLA
  
• IFLA Library Map of the World
• Programming Librarian
  
• Sustainable Event Planning Guide for Libraries
• Resources from the Sustainability Round Table of the American Library Association
• Sustainable Swag Self-Evaluation for Library Workers
• Sustainable Swag Self-Evaluation for Vendors
• Additional links shared in chat
• Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Power Dynamics and Inclusion in Virtual Meetings
• For any libraries around New York State, the Finger Lakes Climate Fund offers an excellent local climate offset program
• Explore Census Data to inform community needs/programming
• Green Libraries: Product Guides/Certification, Illinois Library
• Swag idea, the original plantable pencil
• Good Bottle refill shop
• Library of Things, webinar and resources
• Join the SustainRT's 10-year anniversary on December 5!
• Library Toolshed, Canada
• Final Presentations from the Sustainable Library Certification Program

• Sustainable Libraries: Resources and Webinars for Climate Action
• Read Sustainability 101, the first article
  
• Read Getting Started with Climate Action Planning, the second article
  
• Read Disaster Preparedness and Community Resilience, the third aricle
• Read Climate Justice, the fourth aricle
• Read Programs that Walk the Talk, the fifth article
  
• Reading Lists on WorldCat.org compiled by Sustainable Libraries Inititative
• Essential Reads
• Environmental Justice
• Eco-Literacy for Kids
• Books for Youth Climate Activists
• Climate Fiction Starter Pack
• OCLC's Distinguished Seminar Series with Rebekkah Smith Aldrich: Sustainability—A Call to Action for the Library Community
• Road Map to Sustainability
• eNewsletter of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative
• Sustainable Library Certification Program
• Final Presentations from the Sustainable Library Certification Program
• Resources from the Sustainability Round Table of the American Library Association
• Sustainability and Libraries: ALA and Sustainability

Other webinars in the series

Sustainability 101
Recording now available

Climate Action Planning (Part 1): An Introduction
Recording now available

Climate Action Planning (Part 2): Disaster Preparedness and Community Resilience
Recording now available

Climate Justice
Recording now available

Living Our Values Out Loud: Programs that Walk the Talk
Recording now available