Book Prospector (http://www.bookprospector.com/) is worth checking out. Basically, they sell your books for you at a supposedly higher amount than you could on your own. You enter the item info on their Web site, they give you a quote on price of each, you click “sell,” and package up all the books w/ pre paid shipping label (they cover shipping costs) and send to them.
Any libraries using it and what do you think?
Great idea! From a comment posted on LibraryStuff in early February:
“Our Friends of the Harborfields Library, Greenlawn, New York, have donated 50 new green canvas tote bags to the Library. We have cataloged them and our patrons can check them out for 21 days, they have become so popular, that after the first 2 weeks, all the bags were out, each day a few come back and then go out abain. Our patrons love the hands free browsing ability the bags give them. The Friends of the Library are also selling the same bags for $10 and have sold a few dozen. The bags were purchased from JanWay http://www.janway.com
Very inexpensive. Carol Albano, Director”
Check with your supplier to find out if you library is purchasing recycled office paper. (or, encourage your institution to find a more earth friendly paper supplier.) Look for at least 30% of higher post-consumer when buying recycled paper. This means the original paper wasn’t recycled scrap from the mill but was actually used for something first and is now being recycled. Also check to make sure chlorine wasnt used in the process and that the original wood fiber was manufacted from sustainable growth.
New Leaf Paper is a company to check out for recycled office paper. They offer a great primer explaining the process, terminology, etc. if you want to learn more about just what recycled paper is.
The new ACRL Green Conference Committee wants to minimize the environmental impact of the 2009 National Conference in Seattle, WA. You can add your input and help the Green Conference Committee by completing this brief survey about ways to “green” the conference The survey should take 5-10 minutes. The deadline to complete it is Friday, February 29
The H2O Conserve Water Calculator is “an interactive tool designed to help you measure how much water you use, better understand the ways you use water in your daily life, and get you thinking about what you can do to use less.” Use if for your personal use or for your institution. http://www.h2oconserve.com/
Earth 911 is a great site for finding out where to recycle all sorts of things. Put in your zip code and what you want to recycle and they provide a list of local places.
Also check out Gcycle (sponsored by Earth 911)- a multifaceted electronics recycling campaign. The site provids information on where to recycle “tech stuff.” I found the graphics a little annoying but the site is great. Their goal - to keep these toxic wastes out of landfills and make it as easy as possible for people to recycling such things as old cell phones, batteries, tvs, monitors, laptops, video tapes, etc
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has a site called myGreenElectronics which provides information on where to recycle lots of other electronics like flashlights and home theater equipment.
Lastly, don’t forget to check out Tech Soup for more general information on electronic recycling programs and ideas.
*In the end, remember to think before you buy so you can REDUCE and REUSE before you even get to RECYCLE*
For the last minute shopper, check out these great ideas for more sustainable, environmentally friendly Valentine’s Day gift ideas from Inhabitat.com
Yesterday I tuned into a free webinar offered through WebJunction. What a great way to get some continuing education, even participate, chat, comment, etc. all from your home or office. Though energy is used from the computers, routers, servers, etc. it far outweighs the use of all those dozens of people to physically commute to the location for a workshop.
There are many online learning places, many FREE of charge such as Sirsi Dynix Institutes or OPAL Programs. To find more online classes (free or at cost) check out the Library Success Wiki’s Online Training Resources for Libraries
Not quite library related, but a cool news item I just read: University of Illinois gets an all green residence hall. This over 200+ bed dorm offers “geothermal system to heat rooms and water, water-saving plumbing, as well as environmentally friendly lighting and paint.” It was funded by a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.
Is it possible to offer a telecommuting option? Even just a day a week? With the technological advancements we have today, many people could work out of their homes and still connect to the office network. Academics could do research day from home. Many public libraries are starting ebranchs that can be managed at times from home. We even had someone (home with a baby) do cataloging from her house. With distance education growing, classes can be taught online with many e-resources offered without a physical building or person needing to be local. Try brainstorming others ways to offer telecommuting as an option - maybe not daily (yes, we need staff to run the physical library), but as we move into a more virtual environment, we don’t need everyone everyday driving to the office.
