[Sli-schools] Congratulations, Haverstraw King's Daughter Public Library!

Fri May 20 11:07:44 EDT 2022

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

May 20, 2022

Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library is Certified Sustainable

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative recognizes Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library as a leader in sustainability.

New York – May 20, 2022 – Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library, in Garnerville, New York, has completed the actions needed to be certified as a “Sustainable Library” through the Sustainable Libraries Initiative <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/> ’s award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program. This ground-breaking initiative built exclusively for libraries, provides a step-by-step process to infuse triple bottom line sustainable decision making into a library’s policies, procedures, and actions.

Situated along the Hudson River, sea level rise and the increasing threat of flooding due to climate change are an important focus in the community that Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library serves. This led Library Director, Claudia Depkin, to get involved with the early stages of retreats and working groups that eventually led to the formation of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative. “Once the concept of the Triple Bottom Line Sustainability was established as the baseline for this work, it was clear to us that every single area of the library would improve with this effort. The pandemic slowed us down a bit, but we’re excited to move forward using the sustainability lens for decision-making and relationship building.”

The library expanded on their existing environmentally sound investment of solar panels by continuing to replace lighting fixtures with energy-efficient LEDs, scheduling community shredding and recycling events, and increasing their recycling enough to cut the volume of waste by half. They conducted community conversations to learn more about what needs were not currently being addressed and have worked to build programs, services, and partnerships in response to this insight. They provide innovative programming, such as King Con, their local comic convention geared for teens features workshops, crafts, local artists, and vendors. This event engages community members and draws new visitors to the library.    

Sustainable Libraries Initiative Co-Founder and Advisory Board President, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich states, “What an exciting moment for this library! Their leadership and perseverance demonstrate the grit and determination needed in the face of climate change to truly lead communities forward to see a new path to a brighter future. Congratulations to Library Director, Claudia Depkin, one of the founding members of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, and her team for their achievement.” Claudia will continue her work with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative as a mentor for other libraries pursuing their certification. 

International Impact

            Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library is among the first libraries to participate in the Sustainable Libraries Certification Program, the first of its kind in the world. This benchmarking program was developed to assist libraries of all kinds - public, academic, and individual school librarians - to create opportunities to make better choices on behalf of the local and global community.

The program has been recognized by the International Federation of Library Associations at their 2019 World Congress in Athens, Greece, becoming the first program in the United States to be honored through their “Green Libraries” Award.

Comprehensive Approach

            With categories of actions focusing on each of the three pillars of triple bottom line sustainability such as Energy, Indoor Spaces, Social Cohesion, and Resilience Planning, this comprehensive process leads a library toward institutional change that shifts the rationale for every decision to consider the local and global impacts. Through this program, libraries work with their communities to listen and learn, allowing local needs to be identified and addressed. Strengthening the relationship between the library and the community they serve builds resilience through stronger connections with many organizations and increased access to information. 

The path to certification through the Sustainable Libraries Certification Program is designed to be flexible for libraries of different types, sizes, and budgets and guided by the communities they serve. Each library that completes the program will select the benchmarks that best fit the needs of their library and community, resulting in a uniquely sustainable organization. Find out more information through our website ( <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org> https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org) or contact sliadmin at suffolknet.org <mailto:sliadmin at suffolknet.org> .

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative is now enrolling public libraries throughout the United States, with nearly sixty libraries currently enrolled in the Sustainable Libraries Certification Program. Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library is the eleventh library to be certified through this program. Read more about Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library’s Certification on the Sustainable Libraries Initiative’s website news announcement <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/news/congratulations-haverstraw-kings-daughters-public-library> .

For more information, please contact:

Annemarie Gordon, Sustainability Coordinator

 <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/> Sustainable Libraries Initiative

 <https://portal.suffolklibrarysystem.org/node/32703> Suffolk Cooperative Library System

631-286-1600 x1355

sliadmin at suffolknet.org <mailto:sliadmin at suffolknet.org> 

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