In 2019, around the same time the American Library Association (ALA) formally added sustainability to the core values of librarianship, we were laying the groundwork for what would become the Binghamton (N.Y.) University Libraries’ (BUL) Sustainability Hub.
At the time, we each were working independently on similar, smaller projects within BUL’s Science Library, like using a small area to feature some of the library’s sustainability resources and research happening on campus, as well as providing meeting spaces for sustainability-focused student clubs. But we recognized we could think bigger.
In 2020, we received a grant from ALA’s Resilient Communities Pilot Program, aimed at helping libraries engage their communities in programs and conversations addressing the climate crisis. Thanks in part to that support, we established partnerships with community organizations, created new programs, and kickstarted eco-friendly services to cultivate a culture of sustainability campuswide.
Today the Sustainability Hub has an onsite and a virtual presence. We’ve hosted 50 events that have brought in a total of 1,700 attendees and worked with upwards of 20 local and campus-based organizations.
In the Science Library’s main lobby, we offer curated books on sustainability topics, including practical skills such as mending, foraging, and gardening; posters on student and faculty research; information on preparing for severe weather emergencies; a drop-off point for hard-to-recycle materials; a seed library; and meters for measuring electricity use and air that patrons can check out. Students can borrow a plant buddy—a houseplant to keep on their desk while they study. We also have meeting rooms for presentations, workshops, and clubs.
Starting small is crucial to avoid burnout, and may lead to something bigger.
In our virtual online space, we have a calendar of events, recordings of past events, reading lists, tip sheets, and information about sustainability-related activities and groups elsewhere on campus and in the community.
For academic librarians interested in promoting sustainability at their own library, we recommend these practices:
Identify and fill community gaps. In planning your projects, understand the gaps in sustainability services, resources, or programming within your community. Cross-referencing these gaps with local needs will help justify your efforts to stakeholders, ensure you are not directly competing with others, and help establish community partnerships. Open communication with groups doing similar work can reveal opportunities, build collaboration, and prevent duplication of efforts.
Start small and work with what you have. Starting small is crucial to avoid burnout, and may lead to something bigger. Explore easy ways to add to existing programs or services and create a small working team to share ideas and responsibilities. Consider partnering with an organization you met when surveying community needs. After we received our grant, we collaborated with a local community-garden nonprofit to create a virtual workshop series on seed-saving.
Center justice. True environmental advocacy centers social and racial justice. We’ve created an Equitable Sustainability Literacy Guide, for example. We also collaborate on programming with justice-oriented organizations, such as BUL’s Multicultural Resource Center and Indigenous Studies working group, and have an environmental justice book collection on topics that resonate with the community we serve.
When sustainability became a core value of the Association, then-ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo said that “libraries of all types can act as catalysts and inspire future generations to reach solutions that are not only sensible but essential to sustaining life on this planet.”
All efforts your library undertakes to create a more sustainable world, no matter how small, are catalysts for change, and they’re well worth pursuing.
