Launch Event for The Library of Local at the Kingston Library

So. In 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, we decided to launch a new project: The Library of Local.

With our new friends from Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley we created four hub libraries in the Mid-Hudson Library System that boast special collections of books, seeds, and tools that address climate solutions, specifically in year 1: food security.

We finally felt comfortable enough to bring people together to celebration this at the Kingston Library this month. It was joyous and hope-filled. Just what the doctor ordered.

On a personal note, this was the first public speaking I did in an actual public setting since the pandemic hit. I’ve been “on screen” for over a year. To say I was nervous was an understatement. My voice shook. I was having trouble controlling my breath. I was overwhelmed with emotion to see my friends and colleagues in person finally. What a great re-entry though. I could not be more proud of this project and the libraries that stepped up to try out this idea. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

I’m looking forward to kicking off this upcoming FREE event with a talk about The Just Transition. Don Lemon from CNN is the keynote!

The Just Transition

If the pandemic had any silver lining, it brought systemic economic, environmental and societal inequities into focus, and the time for change is long overdue. Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson Library System and author of Sustainable Thinking and Resilience from ALA Editions, will discuss the opportunities library leaders have to build community resilience in light of recent events and co-create a new future for their library and their community using regenerative thinking.

Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director, Mid-Hudson Library System

Register online today!

“As we think through the lessons we have learned over the past four years, one thing is quite clear: the way “we’ve always done things” is not sustainable for the well-being of our communities. We need to seek out those patterns that are emerging to systemically change the policy landscape of our society, economy and the environment and respect that leadership may look different in the coming years.”

Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Library Journal, December 2020

Check out my latest column in Library Journal where I take a look at lessons from nature, The Just Transition, and the new wave of Black activists to help guide how we move forward in the face of the chaos of 2020.

“Climate injustice has deep roots in racism in America.”
-Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Library Journal, 10.8.2020

Read my new Library Journal article here.

American Libraries did a feature article on libraries and climate action planning! Very cool to see the work of the Kingston Library (NY) featured here.

Check out the new book from ALA Editions, Libraryland: It’s All about the Story edited by Ben Bizzle and Sue Considine. I devoted my chapter to telling the story of The Phoenicia Library in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. That library may sound familiar, I talk about it a lot as it will be the first Passive House certified library in the United States!

My latest column for Library Journal is up!

“The massive change in life circumstances over the weeks since my last column have been strange, terrible, and beautiful—often all at once.

I have watched my colleagues around the world roll up their sleeves and learn new skills, produce programming they never imagined, nurture new partnerships, and accelerate community-wide implementation of plans they’ve had in the hopper for months, if not years. From early literacy programming, to helping bridge the digital divide, to providing social gathering spaces online—it has been a magnificent thing to watch libraries respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

Libraries are doing immediate, deep work to address social inequalities. Here are a few examples I’ve gathered in the past weeks…” Read the full article here.

It is very exciting to see Matthew Bollerman, the co-founder of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and the first councilor to represent the ALA Sustainability Round Table, awarded the Library Journal Mover & Shaker designation. Matt is an innovative, forward-thinking library leader who has done much good in our profession both at the state and national level. Congrats to Matt!

Call for Submissions: Sustainability in Libraries

Sustainability in Libraries, edited by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Monika Antonelli, Adrian K. Ho, and René Tanner will be published by ALA Editions. The book will offer insights into the important developments on how librarians provide leadership and how libraries serve as models for sustainable practices. The editors are seeking articles from a variety of perspectives on topics related to sustainability—including crisis preparation, response, and recovery—within the library profession.   

Objective of the Book:

In 2019, the American Library Association adopted Sustainability as a new core value. This book will provide direction to library personnel and libraries as institutions to position themselves as connectors, conveners, and catalysts for the changes needed. “Sustainability” is not an end point but a mindset, a lens through which operational and outreach decisions can be made. With the climate crisis upon us and its devastating impact on wildlife, oceans, air quality, soil, and the very fabric of life on Earth, we are compelled to find answers and provide direction for our library communities whether they be rural, suburban, metropolitan, schools, or institutions of higher learning. The examples and ideas shared in this edited volume will have far reaching potential and bolster the United Nations’ work on the Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to create a more sustainable future for all.

Suggested Topics:

The book chapters will be divided into three main themes for sustainable action.

Theme #1: Libraries as Inspiration & Catalysts – Content that would fall under this theme include topics and examples related to how libraries may provide leadership and serve as a model for sustainable practices through facility stewardship, innovative service design, and outreach and partnership practices.

Theme #2: Libraries as Conveners & Connectors – Content that would fall under this theme include topics and examples related to how libraries work collaboratively through visionary partnerships to facilitate collective impact work to address existing challenges and opportunities with a focus on community well-being and self-reliance.

Theme #3: Libraries as Contributors to Community Resilience – Content that would fall under this theme includes topics and examples of how libraries contribute to future community resilience. For example, active participation in library-centric or community-based resilience/disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts and work that contributes to creating a culture of respect, understanding, and empathy in the library’s service area.

Target Audience:

The intended audience for this book is people working in public, school, academic, special, rural, and urban libraries. In addition, this book will include instructional materials to be used in Library and Information Science programs to educate future library practitioners about Sustainability, the newest Core Value of Librarianship.

Special Considerations:

High quality, large file, professional, black and white images are encouraged to enhance the text. Unless they are public domain or openly licensed for commercial use, a permission release will be required for each image submitted. A model release form will be necessary for any images with recognizable people in them. The person must be a legal adult or have a parent’s permission to use the image.

Submission Guidelines:

The editors welcome submissions from authors who are interested or have experience creating sustainable libraries or working on topics of sustainability in connection with libraries. The editors are open to a variety of submissions including research articles, how-to articles, essays, and interviews. Manuscript submissions should comply with APA Style.

The editors are looking for submissions about sustainability in libraries that emphasize scalable approaches that can be applied to a variety of libraries at different levels. Brief proposals about programs and partnerships that provide inspiration and actionable takeaways are encouraged. Submit a summary of your proposed article (300 words or less) to Sustainability in Libraries. 

The development of manuscripts will be done in phases. After comments are returned to authors regarding accepted chapter summary proposals, a chapter outline (500 words or less) will be requested.  

Once authors receive acceptance for their chapters they will submit their final manuscripts in .doc or .docx format.  Suggested length is 2,000 to 3,500 words.  Manuscripts should comply with APA style guidelines.

Timeline:

• Chapter Summary Proposal deadline:  June 15, 2020
• Notification by editors of proposal acceptance: July 15, 2020
• Chapter Outlines deadline:  August 17, 2020
• First Manuscript Drafts deadline: October 1, 2020
• Additional key dates will be sent to successful proposal writers.

Submit chapter summary proposals to: https://forms.gle/axqBoa1c9LAa6GQF6

For additional information, please contact:

Adrian Ho, Director of Digital Scholarship, University of Kentucky, hoadriank[at]gmail[dot]com, or 

Rene Tanner, Liaison Librarian, Humanities Division, Arizona State University, rene.tanner[at]asu[dot]edu.