sustainability in libraries Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Campus Sustainability through Information Literacy

By Raymond Pun | September 12, 2017

This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. When I first started working at Fresno State as the first-year student success librarian in 2015, a colleague referred my name to a team of science professors in this program. From there, I began attending weekly meetings and contributing … Continue reading Campus Sustainability through Information Literacy →

Degrowth Is Coming

By Edgardo Civallero | August 4, 2017

Generally speaking, human beings have been aware of these boundaries throughout history, if only to protect existing resources. Our lives depended on it—and still do. But societies have come to view themselves as independent of that abstract entity known as “nature” and believe that human beings can handle their environment at their convenience, using and … Continue reading Degrowth Is Coming →

Sustainability in Public Libraries

This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. Sustainability does not mean continuing the public library, its facilities, and its roles as they are now. It may mean retaining key elements of the library while changing many others. Or it may mean retaining the core values … Continue reading Sustainability in Public Libraries →

Triple Bottom Line Sustainability

By Gary Shaffer | June 15, 2017

This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. Author and entrepreneur John Elkington, often credited for introducing the concept of TBL, wrote in Cannibals with Forks: Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business (1999) that organizations must be economically prosperous, promote environmental quality, and be champions of … Continue reading Triple Bottom Line Sustainability →

Strengthening the Voice for Sustainability

By Kellie Sparks | May 31, 2017

This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. Libraries can move toward providing a fact-based voice in fighting climate change in their communities. One way to do this is by more proactively collecting and disseminating information to stakeholders involved in local sustainability efforts. A recent study … Continue reading Strengthening the Voice for Sustainability →

Sustainability on the Other Side of the Stacks

By Amy Brunvand | May 22, 2017

This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. Why not? I hadn’t previously thought of embedding myself in the Sustainability Office, but the idea seemed brilliant. Typically, academic libraries mirror the subject-based structure of academic departments; but one of the unique aspects of campus sustainability is … Continue reading Sustainability on the Other Side of the Stacks →

Sustainability’s Community of Practice

By Beth Filar Williams and Bonnie Smith | May 10, 2017

This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. This consideration of the need and role of humanity in constructing a sustainable future for all—balancing environmental, economic, and social needs while protecting vulnerable populations—is a core and urgent concern of society, and consequently of libraries. The very … Continue reading Sustainability’s Community of Practice →

Libraries and Sustainable Thinking

By Rebekkah Smith Aldrich | April 20, 2017

This is the first column in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. In today’s world, libraries cannot afford to be passive or neutral. We find ourselves contending with disruption on all fronts—political, social, economic, technological, and environmental. Fully participating in community life through the pursuit of our professional values … Continue reading Libraries and Sustainable Thinking →

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A child who fell and needed stitches, stolen iPads, a group fight in front of the glass building, racial slurs to staff, indecent exposure, a person having suicidal thoughts, youths using hard drugs, and a man who urinated on the floor: These are just some of the things that staff have had to manage at Halifax (Nova Scotia) Central Library, according to incident reports from January 2018 to April 2019. To deal with all of this, staff receive training in customer service, mental health first aid, and nonviolent crisis intervention two to three times a year. Chief Librarian Åsa Kachan said she works closely with community police officers, a mobile street health team, and an in-house social worker.

CBC News, Aug. 19
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The 2019 Hugo Awards for best science fiction or fantasy works were presented August 18 at a ceremony at the 77th World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland, hosted by Afua Richardson and Michael Scott. The winners included The Calculating Stars (Tor) by Mary Robinette Kowal for best novel and Wayfarers (Hodder & Stoughton/Harper Voyager) by Becky Chambers for best series. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt) won the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book and Jeannette Ng won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Hugo Awards, Aug. 19
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Justin Azevedo writes: “How do you sneak complicated and seemingly unrelated intellectual freedom concepts into your youth book clubs? Just like sneaking healthy food into a kid’s meal, these techniques will enrich the work you already do as a librarian without disrupting your programming routine. For this post, we’ll focus on tips for including important intellectual freedom concepts into a book club for tweens or younger teens, ages 11–14, along with two sample discussion themes you could try out.”

ALSC Blog, Aug. 17
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When Hilary Severyn decided on her capstone project for her graduate degree at the University of Michigan School of Information, she chose to archive and digitally preserve a unique cultural treasure—the handcrafted marionettes, props, correspondence, and papers of Michigan puppeteer Meredith Bixby (1909–2002), who staged shows for school groups and libraries all over the US from the 1930s to the 1980s. The entire collection has been in a storage area of the Saline (Mich.) Chamber of Commerce since 2008. Severyn used X-ray and CT scanning to create 3D photographs of each of the marionettes and in the process discovered some secrets used by the showman.

University of Michigan School of Information, Aug. 14
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People aged 10 to 25 make up almost one-fourth of the US population. According to a new research report, The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth, the connections between brain regions strengthen during these ages and become more efficient, while unused connections “are pruned away.” The brains of young people are adaptable and become more specialized, based on what demands are placed on them by their schools and social environments. At the same time, the adolescent brain is “vulnerable to detrimental exposure,”such as alcohol, drug use, and growing up in a dangerous neighborhood. This is where inequity plays an outsized role.

THE Journal, Aug. 13
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Amelia Lush writes: “In November 2018, following the United Nations Climate Change Conference, then 15-year-old Greta Thunberg initiated the school strike for climate movement, which saw over 50,000 people from 100 countries rally together in a call for action. Four months later, 1.4 million students from around the world participated in school strikes. Children are participating in protests and carving out their own platforms to demand a voice. Greta’s speeches have now been collected in a single volume titled No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. Here are 10 other books for younger readers that reflect her tenacity.”

The Guardian (UK), July 8
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Libraries and Autism will again award a total of $5,000 in “Autism Welcome Here: Library Programs, Services, and More” grants, either for one proposal or to be divided among several applicants. All types of libraries in the US and Canada are encouraged to apply. Applicants may propose to initiate a new program, bring an established program to the library for the first time, or enhance a program already offered. Applications will be accepted from September 1 to December 1.

Libraries and Autism

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