[SLI-Newsletter] Sustainable Libraries Initiative December 2021 Newsletter

Wed Dec 1 11:17:34 EST 2021

 <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/document/131> 

Our December 2021 Newsletter
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/document/131>  is now
available by clicking the links above, downloading the pdf attachment, or
reading the full text below.

Sustainable Libraries Initiative Newsletter

December 2021

Breaking News

Sustainable Libraries Initiative will hold a Community Gardening at Your
Library Webinar
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/community-gardening-your-
library>  on December 13th at 11am. Please join us to learn more about
planning and maintaining a garden. Our panelists will provide a brief
presentation and then answer your questions. Register here
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/community-gardening-your-
library> .

Certification Celebration!

This month we are highlighting two libraries that have recently achieved
their Sustainable Libraries Initiative
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/>  certification and one that
has submitted their completed benchmarks. This issue will highlight each of
their accomplishments while demonstrating the flexibility built into the
SLCP which allows for each participating library to forge their own unique
path towards certification. Our award-winning certification program offers a
variety of benchmarks that may be completed as part of each library's unique
certification path. The benchmarks that are chosen to be completed and the
actions taken to complete them are designed with flexibility to meet the
specific needs of each library and their community. These examples
demonstrate that this process is guided by the individual library and their
community resulting in different outcomes tailored for their own locations.

South Huntington Public Library

 <https://shpl.info/> 

Congratulations to South Huntington Public Library <https://shpl.info/>
(SHPL), located in Suffolk County, New York and a member of the Suffolk
Cooperative Library System <https://portal.suffolklibrarysystem.org/> . They
have completed their Sustainable Libraries Initiative Certification!

SHPL completed the environmental portion of their certification through the
Green Business Partnership <https://www.greenbusinesspartnership.org/>
Certification Program in October 2019. To achieve this designation, they
converted the LED lighting in the interior and exterior of their building.
They began turning off large banks of lights indoors on sunny days when the
natural light was adequate. These efforts helped to reduce the amount of
electricity purchased. They are looking into the feasibility of adding solar
panels to their roof to further reduce their energy costs and greenhouse gas
emissions. 

The staff of SHPL was part of the process right from the start. Their
initial survey indicated strong support for progress toward environmental
conservation. A Green Team was formed and staff were asked to offer
suggestions on how the library could work toward becoming more
environmentally friendly. All of the suggestions were considered and many
have already been implemented. A quarterly newsletter and interactive Green
Team bulletin board keep the whole staff informed and engaged. The Green
Team even created their own logo.

The library held programs and events to share ideas and information with
their community. These included a Project Drawdown <https://drawdown.org/>
Book Discussion and an Earth Day celebration for staff. As a result of the
program they have increased the number and accessibility of recycling bins
in their library, hosted e-waste recycling events for the public, and
increased their awareness of water usage throughout the building. 

For the library's director, Janet Scherer, a compelling reason to complete
the SLCP was the focus not just on the environmental aspects of
sustainability, but also on the social equity dimensions encompassed by the
SLI's use of the triple bottom line definition of sustainability
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/glossary#page=4> . In July
2021, the library board passed an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/document/121>  explicitly
acknowledging the support for the differences in characteristics that make
their staff and community unique. Their outreach efforts to the Spanish
speaking members of their community includes bilingual story times
<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9VfZG7drHLUDJ89XfS3_eAjrngWR6OFN> ,
a portion of their website <https://shpl.info/en-espanol>  written in
Spanish highlighting the programs and services available for Spanish
speaking and English learners, Library Blog posts in Spanish
<https://shpl.info/blog-entries?field_bl_type_target_id%5B246%5D=246> ,
Spanish language book recommendations
<https://shpl.info/recommended-reads?&field_br_category_target_id%5B0%5D=241
&field_br_tags_target_id> , and appointment scheduling for individual
assistance from a Spanish speaking librarian
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIzle81V7Tv4s5-Yz7MGcLtYlLl4ewBc1
2lnweUmnakcgomQ/viewform> . A focus on inclusivity is written into their
updated Collections Development Policy, ensuring that this will have a
lasting impact. 

They have fostered collaborations with community partners such as the
Huntington Youth Bureau <https://hybydri.org/> , Scout groups, their local
Chamber of Commerce <https://huntingtonchamber.com/> , and the Huntington
Arts Council <https://www.huntingtonarts.org/>  resulting in an increased
reach to many groups. The offer US Passport processing
<https://shpl.info/services/general-services/passports>  and hold voter
registration drives to increase residents' access to government services.
The SHPL also maintains disaster kits for their staff that contain supplies
that can serve 20 people for three days. 

Highland Public Library

 <https://highlandlibrary.org/> 

Highland Public Library <https://highlandlibrary.org/> , member of the
Mid-Hudson Library System <https://midhudson.org/>  and located in Ulster
County, NY, have also recently completed their Sustainable Libraries
Initiative Certification. Their submission is anchored by a detailed and
community driven Plan of Service
<https://highlandlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/HPL-PlanofService.pdf> .
This document sets forth a strategic plan that aligns with many of the goals
of the SLCP. To generate this document, group discussions including a
variety of library stakeholders such as staff, trustees, and community
members, were held. Following these focused discussions, a survey was
launched to gather even more information. This resulted in the creation of 6
strategic goals that the Highland Public Library addresses in detail in this
document with objectives, activities, and set evaluation methods. In this
plan, the library's commitment to environmentally sound and economically
feasible practices is explicitly stated, aligning the principles of the SLCP
with their goals.

Decisions made in the planning and construction of their building, long
before the certification process began, considered energy efficiency. Their
building is continuously insulated, minimizing air leaks and allowing
efficient operation of their HVAC systems. Their water fixtures are low flow
and lighting fixtures are high efficiency. Many of the construction
materials used in their building contain recycled components. Their exterior
lighting is LED and set on timers to control for energy use and light
pollution. The landscaping surrounding the building incorporates native
plants and large trees to provide shade. 

They increased the amount of recycling receptacles used in the building and
posted signs in the bathrooms to encourage the use of hand dryers. The staff
have incorporated discarded library materials into their programming. Books
and CD's are reused in craft projects and cardboard boxes were upcycled into
a kid-sized train in the children's department. The library also installed a
water bottle filling station which has eliminated the use of thousands of
plastic water bottles. A bike repair station was installed to encourage
patrons and community members to ride bikes to the library. The library also
joined the Clynk bottle and can recycling program. As part of this program,
the library collects cans and bottles from the 

community and the proceeds from the deposit returns go to the library. 

The Highland Public Library staff were overwhelmingly supportive of the SLCP
and made changes to their own habits such as using reusable Keurig coffee
pods and reusable cups, plates, and utensils. 

For the social equity and financial sustainability benchmark categories, the
Highland library once again was guided by the direct feedback they received
from their community conversations and surveys. Talking with their community
members, they were able to better serve them through the library and also
gained a better understanding of the vision that community members have for
an improved community. With that knowledge, the library can now work with
other local organizations to help achieve these goals. Having these
discussions originating from the library helped many residents change their
perceptions of the role that the library plays. This process helped place
the library in a more central and vital role in the eyes of many residents.

Engaging with their community for the Collective Impact category, they
strengthened their relationships with local businesses and community
organizations. These partnerships created new pathways for library patrons
to engage with businesses, heightened visibility for the businesses, and
also led to the businesses thinking about new ways to help the libraries.
One partnership, with Field Goods <https://stockup.field-goods.com/> ,
established the library as a pick-up point for orders of produce from local
farms. This helped to promote many local businesses and also gave residents
easy, convenient access to fresh local grown produce.

Highland Public Library participates in many community wide events, offers
voter registration, holds office hours with their State Assembly member, and
displays census and voting information. Reflecting on the work done in the
Social Cohesion category of the benchmarks, Highland Public Library
Director, Julie Kelsall-Dempsey stated, "through revising and assessing our
programs, services, and collection, we believe our primary values continue
to affirm, support, and validate that all community members feel
acknowledged and represented at the library." By increasing their efforts to
make sure that all community members see themselves represented in the
library, they have seen their circulation, registrations, and donations
increase.

Comsewogue Public Library

 <https://www.cplib.org/> 

Comsewogue Public Library <https://www.cplib.org/>  is located in Suffolk
County, New York and is a member of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System
<https://portal.suffolklibrarysystem.org/> . They satisfied the
environmental benchmarks through obtaining certification from the Green
Business Partnership <https://www.greenbusinesspartnership.org/>  in
September 2020. They have now completed their SLI Custom Benchmarks and are
currently finishing up the last of their revisions in order to be certified
by the Sustainable Libraries Initiative
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/> . Their certification
submission includes a wide range of efforts by the staff to reduce their
greenhouse gas consumption, reduce their waste, strengthen their community
partnerships, and demonstrate to their community that decision making based
on the triple bottom line principles can have lasting and tangible benefits.

Their efforts toward reducing energy use include the installation of new
HVAC units, a white roof, new EnergyStar <https://www.energystar.gov/>
rated boiler and hot water heater. Also key to this effort is their
conversion to LED lighting, posting signs to remind staff (and patrons) to
turn off lights when rooms are not occupied, and use of occupancy sensors to
automatically turn lights on and off.

In 2019 the library participated in a Project Drawdown
<https://drawdown.org/>  21 Day Challenge focusing on carbon reduction.
Their participation increased awareness among staff and in their community
about the importance of acting to reduce our carbon footprint. Their
combined efforts saved 6,713 pounds of CO2 and resulted in placing fifth in
New York State and finishing in the top spot for libraries worldwide. 

Throughout this process, they continued to inform their community about what
efforts they were making and sharing resources. They invited their energy
provider to visit and inform their patrons about energy savings. When the
town stopped collecting glass as part of their curbside recycling program,
the library worked with the town to place glass collection bins on their
property so that interested residents could continue to recycle. They hold
programs that offer e-Waste recycling and paper shredding. Additional items
are recycled or reused including Halloween costumes, paper products used for
craft programs, Ellison Die Cuts, prom dresses, batteries, toner cartridges,
and bubble wrap. The library has a bottle filling station that has already
saved over 10,000 single use plastic water bottles from being used.

To assist the library in reducing their water usage, they contacted the
Suffolk County Water Authority <https://www.scwa.com/> . Water conservation
tips and information were posted on the Green Team Bulletin board so that it
is visible to all staff members. Going forward, they aim to reduce their
greenhouse gas usage by 10% and reduce waste by 5%.

The goal of including their community in the process of obtaining their
Sustainable Libraries Initiative Certification continued through the social
equity and financial sustainability categories of the program. The library
benefited from finding and maintaining partnerships with other organizations
in their community. Working together on shared projects made the planning
and implementation easier by sharing the work among agencies. The staff at
Comsewogue observed that libraries are well positioned to observe the needs
of the community, even if they are not able to directly solve them. They
were able to leverage this insight to align services and forge new
partnerships to meet the emerging needs of their community.

The generosity of Comsewogue Public Library's community leads to success in
engaging patrons to help each other with donation drives such as toiletry
drives to help veterans, school supplies for local elementary schools, Toys
for Tots <https://www.toysfortots.org/> , handmade baby blankets and hats
for hospitals, feminine products, hats and gloves. They offer services such
as voter registration drives, a social work intern in partnership with Stony
Brook University <https://www.stonybrook.edu/> , Job Fairs, and a Senior
Advocate. There are many program offerings that celebrate the diversity of
their community such as bilingual story times, folklore fun, and Lao
cuisine. There are also programs that focus on social justice themes
including book discussion groups and a program about slavery on Long Island,
sharing first person narratives by people who were enslaved. They have
designated a staff member to continually monitor the library collection's
diversity and will continue to fill in any gaps that are identified. 

These three libraries have all forged their own unique paths through the
certification process. We continue to be amazed by the innovative ways that
our member libraries find to educate their communities and expand their
partnerships with local businesses and organizations. The effect of each
small change that is made to reduce energy, reduce waste, strive for equity,
and make sound financial decisions ripples out to each of our communities
and builds with every library that starts on this path.  

Member News

 <https://www.butterfieldlibrary.org/> 

Welcome to our newest SLCP Public Library,
<https://www.butterfieldlibrary.org> Butterfield Memorial Library! They are
located in Cold Spring, NY and part of the Mid-Hudson Library System. We
also welcome two new School Librarians to our program, Ann-Marie Kalin from
Suffolk County and On Kyung Joo from Nassau County.

Upcoming Events

<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/online-meet-17-slcp-parti
cipants-public> SLCP Online Meetup

Thursday, December 2nd, 11:00 am EST

<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/school-librarian-certific
ation-meet-0> School Librarian Meetup

Tuesday, December 7th, 3:30pm EST

<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/community-gardening-your-
library> Webinar: Community Gardening at Your Library

Monday, December 13th, 11am EST

ALA LibLearnX Virtual Conference <https://alaliblearnx.org/> 

January 21-24th, TBA

<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/ala-core-webinar-sustaina
ble-thinking-builds-strong-libraries-and-resilient-communities> ALA Core
Webinar: Sustainable Thinking Builds Strong Libraries and Resilient
Communities

Tuesday, March 15th, 2pm EST

 <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/> 

Annemarie Gordon

Sustainability Coordinator

Suffolk Cooperative Library System
<https://portal.suffolklibrarysystem.org/> 

sliadmin at suffolknet.org

631-286-1600 x1355

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