Thanks to Library Journal for continuing my column on Sustainability this year! In the midst of what feels like a pretty chaotic chapter of our lives, do we have the headspace to be working on sustainability? Here are my thoughts on the matter: https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/onward-sustainability

I was honored to be back on the schedule for the Public Library Association Conference in Minneapolis, MN this year. It has been a struggle to get sustainability topics on their radar so this felt like a big win!

I was joined by Jennifer Ferriss, Lisa Kropp, and Hazel Onsrud, my follow advisory board members from the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and we took a run at making the connection that climate action combats loneliness. Using data and advice from the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community and the urgent focus called for in the National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries, we helped audience members see how many of their programs are helping to strengthen the social fabric of their community – a key to success for climate action.

If people do not know one another and have empathy, respect, and understanding for one another, we aren’t going to get very far…

When one door closes, another opens…

Last year we spent a crazy amount of time applying for a grant from the Institute of Museum & Library Service (IMLS) only to get shut down when their grants system basically collapsed in the face of the massive cuts to their staff.

A fortuitous conversation with the head of Public Knowledge at the Mellon Foundation revived hope for our project and we’re now delighted to announced that we’re moving forward with their help!

Our list of partners is pretty stellar if I do say so myself! Read more below!

Sustainable Libraries Initiative Awarded $175,000 for Operationalizing Community Resilience: Creating a Training and Partnership Model for Libraries

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) has been awarded a $175,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Public Knowledge program to lead a 15-month project titled Operationalizing Community Resilience: Creating a Training and Partnership Model for Libraries.

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (founded in 2015 and now housed within the Suffolk Cooperative Library System) supports library leaders in co-creating libraries and communities that can thrive in the face of climate change. Through its online community of practice, professional development programs, and award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program, SLI empowers those working in public, academic, and school libraries to advance environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic feasibility. 

Operationalizing Community Resilience will pilot a training program designed to support public library staff in smaller and rural communities as they plan and implement locally relevant resilience activities in partnership with community-based organizations. The training will help participating libraries integrate the National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries (NCASL) into their daily operations, bridging national climate frameworks with the realities of local library work.

The pilot will train a total of 40 staff members drawn from 40 public libraries serving populations of 25,000 or fewer. Project outcomes will include:

• Up to 40 library-led initiatives addressing climate mitigation or adaptation
• Stronger partnerships between libraries and local organizations focused on climate preparedness
• A scalable, field-tested training model and curriculum, and stories from the field,  to help inspire more libraries to engage in similar work nationwide 

Together, these outcomes position libraries as trusted, place-based knowledge institutions capable of anchoring climate adaptation efforts and supporting equitable access to public knowledge infrastructure.

“The goal of Operationalizing Community Resilience is to equip small and rural public libraries with the tools, partnerships, and confidence to turn climate strategy into action,” said SLI Co-Founder and President, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich. “With Mellon’s support, we’re building a practical and replicable model that recognizes libraries as essential civic infrastructure in times of climate disruption.”

By grounding the NCASL in locally driven, partnership-based initiatives, the project contributes a field-building approach to community-based climate action.

The project team will be led by SLI treasurer Roger Reyes and SLI coordinator Rebecca T. Miller, with key contributions from SLI co-founders Rebekkah Smith Aldrich and Matthew Bollerman, and WebJunction’s Andrew Harbison. WebJunction, which brings deep expertise in designing and delivering national-scale training, will play a central role in delivering a high-quality program.

The project’s advisory group will include AnnaLee Dragon (New York Library Association), Julianna Robbins (California State Library), and Michelle Eberle (Massachusetts Library System), and a representative from a Midwest library association, as well as Kate Laughlin (Association for Rural & Small Libraries).

Through Operationalizing Community Resilience, the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and its partners are creating durable pathways for climate action within the library ecosystem, ensuring that supporting community resilience becomes an integral, sustained priority of these essential public institutions. 

I was just reviewing the submission of a library who has completed the Sustainable Library Certification Program and saw they are playing to the judge… well played my friends, well played…

Drum roll please… The first Canadian public library has completed the Sustainable Library Certification Program! Congratulations to the team at Surrey Libraries! They are SO impressive! From their custom staff training to teach decision makers about the Zero Waste Hierarchy to a truly impressive partnership with their city, this library is model for other Canadian libraries! Check out their final presentation! (I’m in love with the names they gave the office plants!)

It was an honor to keynote the recent Michigan Library Association Conference! They are great hosts and made me feel like a celebrity. Also… there was a dog park in the exhibit hall which was so joyful!

IYKYK! In New York, this is a big deal so I’m sharing it here: the Sustainable Libraries Initiative was recently featured in Newsday!

The American Library Association (ALA), in collaboration with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI), is launching Resilient Communities: Advancing Sustainability in and through Libraries, a new initiative designed to equip public library workers with the knowledge and tools to lead on sustainability.

Through this program, 100 library workers will receive free tuition to complete Sustainable Librarianship: Core Competencies and Practices, a four-part asynchronous e-course, and join a community of practice with peers and advisors. By modeling sustainable practices within their facilities and communities, participating libraries will strengthen their role as leaders in building a more resilient future.

Applications are now open through November 14, 2025, with accepted participants notified by December 5, 2025: https://www.ala.org/tools/programming/climatechange/advancing.

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative empowers library leaders to advance environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically feasible practices to intentionally address climate change and co-create thriving communities.

100 selected library workers will experience the following over the course of six months:

• Cohort Creation: Selected library workers will be split into cohorts and will have access to Mentors from the Sustainable Libraries Initiative who will serve as advisors throughout their learning journey. Cohorts will be designed for information-sharing to be as tailored and relevant as possible.
• Learning: Each learner will be given free access to the “Sustainable Librarianship” course and be expected to watch each module and complete related course work. The course was created by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich (president of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and founder/past president of the ALA Sustainability Committee), along with expert speakers, lecturers and writers. The modules will lead participants through the principles and practices of sustainable librarianship.
• Action Plan: As they complete the course, learners will develop an action plan of how to implement aspects of the training in their own library and community.
• Community of Practice: Following the course,ALA will host virtual, advisor-led “office hours.” Advisors will be available to answer cohort members’ questions about how to get started, building buy-in, and technical questions about the particulars of the work. They will also review each cohort member’s action plans, and coach cohort members to success. Learners will also participate in a private online discussion forum in ALA Connect, which will provide space for conversations to continue outside of the scheduled meetings and a repository for resource-sharing.
• Sharing What They’ve Learned: Participants will be asked to submit a brief report to ALA about steps they’ve taken from their action plans by June 17, 2026. Stories will be amplified to the library field, including at ALA’s Annual Conference and on the Programming Librarian website.

“Libraries have an incredible opportunity to lead the way on sustainability,” said Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, president of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative. “This program is about giving library workers the tools and support they need to get started and feel confident making a real difference.”

The Resilient Communities: Advancing Sustainability in and through Libraries program has been made possible by a private funder.

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is the only non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated entirely to America’s libraries and library professionals. For almost 150 years, ALA has provided resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. The ALA serves academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.

About the Sustainable Libraries Initiative

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) is a member-driven organization that empowers library professionals to be leaders using triple-bottom-line sustainability (environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic feasibility) throughout their organizations and in their communities. The Sustainable Library Certification Program is now enrolling public and academic libraries, library systems, and school librarians nationwide.

Thank you to Mallika Talwar of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication for joining forces with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative for our latest free webinar offering:

Strategic Climate Communication: Insights and Tools for Effective Strategies
October 23, 2025 | 2:00 PM Eastern
Presented by: Mallika Talwar, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC)

Free registration!

Thank you to the folks at American Libraries magazine for inviting me to write the anchor article for the issue devoted entirely to the topic of sustainability! It’s a thrill to see sustainability in the spotlight like this and I so appreciate seeing many of the wonderful colleagues I’ve had the pleasure to work with over the years to advance this topic in the profession in this issue as well, like the one and only Matthew Bollerman, the co-founder of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI); Rene Tanner, who I have had the honor of partnering with on several key projects I feel have been critical to advancing an understanding of the importance of this core value in our profession; and Sarah Tribelhorn, a leading voice on this topic in the academic library community. What a line up!