I had an interesting conversation with Rebecca Miller, an editor of Library Journal while at the PLA Conference in Portland last week. As we discussed the value, importance and high level of interest in libraries going green I was challenged to try and articulate my philosophy about Sustainable Libraries and why having a sustainable library plays into the Sustainability Cycle I work within at my day job. [See p. 39 of the Handbook for New Public Library Directors in New York State for a graphic of the Sustainability Cycle]

“Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. …” [Wikipedia, Sustainability]

I focus my daily work on helping libraries be sustainable – to find sustainable funding, to create sustainable governance and management structures and policies and to make their facilities sustainable in both a sense of economics and the environment. In a sense, those efforts are to the end of remaining “diverse and productive” as well since libraries that do not grow in in response to changing community needs, funding situations, and technological advances find their public support – both in people power and dollars – withering.

Working towards sustainable library buildings demonstrates to the public:

• a commitment to the future of the community and the environment
• working to achieve a high return on investment for tax payer dollars
• care and concern for the health and well-being of library patrons, staff and the community-at-large