Greening Your Public Library Online Workshop March 6, 2012

if you missed the announcement be sure to consider attending this virtual  ALA Workshop on Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 2:30pm – 4:00pm Eastern.   Greening Your Library: Save Money and the Environment (ALA Editions Workshop). Presented by Kathryn Miller, author of ALA Editions’ Public Libraries Going Green,

Your library is vital to connecting citizens with the knowledge and tools to change habits and lessen our impact on the Earth’s limited resources, and it all starts with leading by example. In this workshop Kathryn Miller, author of Public Libraries Going Green, will discuss practical ideas for how to become green, teach green, and lead green.  Miller will introduce environmentally-friendly, money-saving initiatives that fit your existing building and services. Ideas for hands-on activities, such as rain barrels or butterfly gardens, will help you raise awareness and get your community involved.

Topics include:

• What it means to be green
• Ideas for your action plan
• Socially responsible collection management, from purchase to disposal
• Program ideas for children, young adults, and adults

Libraries for Sustainability Webinar Series 2012 – kickoff 2/28/12 February 10, 2012

Please join us for the kick-off webinar of the Libraries for Sustainability Webinar Series 2012 :
Feb 28, 2012 – 2:00-3:00 (EST)  - Call to Action and Collaboration – Sign up now!

ALA’s Task Force On the Environment (TFOE) has been engaged in environmental issues for over 20 years and done some tremendous work but has suffered from a lack of participation and lost momentum in recent years.

Join us, and Maria A. Jankowska (UCLA Research Librarian and Editor of Electronic Green Journal), most recent TFOE chair, to understand what TFOE has accomplished, including pitfalls and successes – plus recommendations for next steps. Should this group be revitalized and/or is a change in direction indicated? What are some options for remaining engaged at the local and national levels? Where are opportunities for collaboration and action around broader sustainability issues?

Hopeful outcomes:  Informal meeting at ALA 2012 in June to work on forming a new group; planning for sustainability-related presentations at ALA 2013! – Sign up now!

Time permitting, please review Maria’s recent article, Going beyond Environmental Programs and Green Practices at the American Library Association, which provides a helpful timeline of TFOE’s history and associated activities.

Webinar series facilitators: Madeleine Charney (UMass Amherst Libraries), Beth Filar Williams (UNC Greenboro), and Bonnie Smith (University of Florida Libraries).

Stay tuned for more webinars:
April 24, 2012, 2:00-3:00 (EST) – Exploring Sustainability Practices in Libraries
June 12, 2012, 2:00-3:00 (EST)  - Preparing for ALA Annual Informal Meeting
August 28, 2012 2:00-3:00 (EST) – Action Plan Follow Up & Discussion

Questions? Contact Madeleine Charney at mcharney@library.umass.edu or Beth FilarWilliams at greeningyourlibrary@gmail.com

Greening your time @ ALA June 24, 2010

ALA has been trying to promote greener practices at conferences – lets hope we see some green practices while conferencing in DC (Or hey maybe you are just joining us online!)

What you can do:

• Bring your own reusable water bottle and coffee mug!
• Eat at Green Restaurants. Here is a list of certified green places to support. Can you bring your leftovers back to the hotel in your own reusable container to reheat in a microwave for another meal?
• Ask you hotel and restaurants how green they are: do they recycle (many restaurants do not!), do they conserve water, do they use compact fluorescent light bulbs, etc. Check out the green hotel association Website and the going greener restaurant site for more information.. you could even mention these Web sites to the manager of the place.
• Can you carpool to the conference, take a train, or if you fly rent a hybrid vehicle? Walk or take the metro while in DC.
• Try to not pick up excessive promotional materials or handouts that will just be tossed. Can you access the handouts online? Do you really need extra plastic swag?  Also note, if you are flying, carrying all that material back home uses energy which really does add up if everyone were to bring back a few extra pounds.

Convention Center:

The  Washington Convention Center has green initiatives in place.

Sessions:
Be sure to check out the SRRT’s Task Force on the Environment’s session  “Is It Safe to Go Outside? Health Effects of Climate Change and Global Warming“ on Saturday 1:30-3:30 @ Convention Center room 210. The TFOE has their round table meeting – all invited that same  Saturday morning at JW Marriott ballroom IV from 8:30-10am.  LITA is also offering a green computing session “Emerging Technologies: Virtualization in Libraries”  w/ presenters from  UNC Chapel Hill, NW, and Boulder Public Library,  @ Convention Center 143B/C on Monday 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM (wish I was still at ALA on Monday to attend!)

Hotels:
It’s exciting to see my hotels looking at sustainable practices. My hotel – St. Gregory Luxury Hotel –  has a page explaining their green program, practices and commitment to the environment such as saving water,energy efficiency, and recycling.

Exhibits:
There will be some  ”green” vendors  at ALA too.   ALA has a Green Exhibit Checklist – look for the “green” sign for booths of  exhibitors identified as promoting Green Practices!  ALA says they will have a Green Pavilion of these vendors at the Exhibit hall so look for that.   Just to mention a few ….

• Chelsea Green Publishing booth 2867, is an independent publisher of books dedicated to the practice and politics of sustainability.
• CMS, Inc booth 4034 a software company offering self-service printing, reservations, wireless, etc  but also has line of environmental conscious products.
• InterfaceFLOR, booth 4107, producer of commercial modular carpet says it leads the industry in environmental sustainability with “Mission Zero™,” the company’s promise to eliminate any negative impact it has on the environment by the year 2020.
• Imprint Plus booth 4032 offers reusable name badges.  It’s always better to reuse before recycling. (though I also like sustainable hand made name tags too)
• Island Press booth 2340, offers books about the environment for professionals, students, and general readers.
• JanWay Company booth 2211, offers reusable and some Environmentally friendly products like water bottles.
• Of course there is also the US Environmental Protection Agency booth 4031 ,whose name says it all.  But a new one for me  EPA SunWise Program booth 4115, which offers FREE environmental and health education programs related to sun exposure.
• you can also read more about GES Green Initiatives for exhibiting.

View the PDF ALA program for more details! See you at #ala2010

Green Libraries @ ALA connect June 7, 2010

The ALA’s Task Force on the Environment or TFOE, states its  mission to  “Promotes awareness of environmental issues within ALA; addresses information exchange on the world environment; and provides services, programs and publications that assist librarians with environmental issues in the workplace and in local communities.” Join the green community online at ALA Connect to meet up and share ideas with other green minded librarians!

Wanda Urbanska on green libraries July 20, 2009

Wanda Urbanska was part of an American Libraries sponsored Auditorium Speaker Series at ALA Annual in Chicago. As Simple Living host and an author, Urbanska talked about the disease of over consumption, the concept of heat, feed and speed (aka – decreasing energy requirements for the heating and cooling of homes, gardens/local food choices, and transportation choices), and that libraries are inherently green.  From the AL Inside Scoop blog here are a few ideas she suggested:

• Timer systems for heating, cooling, and lighting systems.
• Eliminating phantom loads by unplugging electronics when not in use.
• Discouraging printing to reduce paper use.
• Recycling of paper—including paper from discarded books.
• “Freecycling” of magazines and books by having swaps at the library. “In today’s economy, that’s a big deal to folks, to be able to take home a book and mark it up and not have to return it,” she noted.
• Buying locally made products whenever possible.
• Reducing the use of disposable materials. Urbanska used her travel mug as an example, claiming that “In 20 years of carrying a travel mug everywhere I go, I’ve saved 7,000 cups from landfills.”
• Using green cleaning products.
• Bike or walk to work, errands, or meetings.
• Host green programming, such as a workshop on making useful materials from plastic bags or a vegetarian cooking class.
• Purchasing products made from recycled materials.

Watch the interview with Wanda

Greening of ALA June 26, 2009

Go green at ALA and eliminate handouts!  Presenters are being asked to post (or link) to materials to the conference wiki before they attend so attendees can immediately access them. The wiki was started last year but mostly, after the fact, materials were added. The wiki is organized by day and time, contains midwinter and last year’s conference materials, and poster sessions. What a great way to cut back on wasted paper and allow those not in attendance at ALA to access materials. Read ALA Marginalia Blog post for more details.

ALA Virtual Conference June 4, 2009

June 1, 2009 Press Release from ALA:

Attend Annual Conference from your desktop this year with the American Library Association’s (ALA) new Virtual Conference.  ALA is offering 10 interactive Web sessions on Monday, July 13, and Tuesday, July 14, at the closing of the 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago.Interact with speakers and other attendees during each of these hour-long sessions on a variety of exciting topics.

These interactive programs from ALA’s Washington Office, the Office of Intellectual Freedom and several other divisions and offices will be the next best thing to being right at the Annual Conference itself.

Topics will include accessing stimulus money for broadband deployment, greening your library and best customer service.

Some of the featured programs are:

• “Conversants”— explore a new way of looking at librarianship as centered on learning and enhancing the conversation of communities.
• “Be My Guest: Customer Service from the Best,” presented by ASCLA—learn ways to make library patrons feel welcome and have a positive experience.
• “You Got Me, Do You Like Me? Evaluating Next Generation Catalogs,” presented by RUSA—hear from a panel of academic and public information professionals who have been evaluating their open source and off-the-shelf next generation catalogs.
• “Overview of the Broadband Deployment and Infrastructure Development: How Libraries Can Access the $7.2 Billion,” featuring John Windhausen, Jr., president of Telepoly Consulting.
• “Small Scale Green”—learn how to “green” existing library facilities without having to start anew.

The Virtual Conference is perfect for those who can’t make it to Chicago this year or for Conference attendees who missed sessions due to busy or conflicting schedules.

All full registrants for the ALA Conference will have access to these sessions after the conference.  Those not attending Conference in-person can register for the Virtual Conference online through the ALA Web site.  The cost is $215 for ALA members, $210 for division members, $120 for student members, $145 for retired members, $298 for non-members and $215 for institutional members.

Libraries or schools can also receive the following special group rates: $300 for one to three employees; $500 for four to nine employees; and $1000 for 10-plus employees.  Register online at http://ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/reg/index.cfm.

ACRL Podcast: Robin Chase Interview April 28, 2009

If you didn’t get to the ACRL 14th National Conference in Seattle in March to hear speaker Robin Chase, co-founder of ZipCar and current CEO of GoLoco, check out this 20 minute interview podcast she gave to  ACRL 2009 Green Committee member Kate Zoellner and C&RL News editor-in-chief David Free, following her talk.

American Libraries April 2009 April 8, 2009

Be sure to check out the latest American Libraries magazine with two green library articles (A Green Library, A Greener You and Building Science 101) and a showcase of library designs – some of which use sustainable practices.

ALA Midwinter “Green” Summary January 27, 2009

Returning from ALA Midwinter in Denver, CO where I took note of green practices- both current and future ideas -from the hosting city to future ALA meetings:

• Denver has wonderful public transportation I took an inexpensive, comfortable, bus right from the airport to downtown Denver, where I immediately caught the FREE 16^th St Mall Shuttle bus (a hybrid!) right to my hotel/convention center.The denver convention center itself offers easy recycling every place there is a trash can as well as signs everyone asking people to conserve water and recycle and much more if you check out their green meeting site.
• For academic libraries,the upcoming ACRL conference in Seattle (March 12 – 15th, 2009) is going green asking attendees to take a green pledge, offering green hotels and restaurants and other green practices.
• For ILL folks, the 40^th Annual ILL Conference in Estes Park CO (April 30 – May 1, 2009) is going with a green theme.
• I attended the Task Force on the Environment (part of Social Responsibilities Round Table) meeting and discussion sessions. If you are interested join the tfoe@ala.org listserv. Discussion on a session at ALA Annual 2009 on the “Libraries Build Sustainable Committees” theme with both speakers and smaller group discussions on what smaller things (besides building green) libraries are doing to be green. The need to update and grow the TFOE Web site to provide more toolkits and resources was mentioned as well. And stay tuned for a possible ALA Presidential Task Force for greening libraries.
• Denver Public Library hosted an unconference on Friday on the topic of Transition Libraries. There is social network of library people coming together to help transition the future based on sustainability at transitionlibraries.ning.com
• Several green initiatives are being discussed for future ALA meetings such as podcasting sessions/presentations and cutting back on paper. Many sections now are going paperless (meaning no snail mailed newsletters, available digitally instead). The new ALA Connect web site area (PDF), coming sometime this spring, will allow each section to have its own community where documents, podcasts, chats, etc. can facilitate more virtual connections among colleagues. You can also contact the ALA Membership Office to ask to change your ALA preferences to email/electronic instead of paper. ALA is also considering going paperless by 2010 Annual, perhaps eliminating the cost and waste of paper to print those huge conference schedules many of us recycle immediately.