Search
Member Login
Road Map to Sustainability

Road Map to Sustainability

By Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director, Mid-Hudson Library System; Co-Founder & Advisory Board President, Sustainable Libraries Initiative; and author of Sustainable Thinking: Ensuring Your Library’s Future in an Uncertain World and Resilience

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) provides library leaders, which we define as all library workers and trustees, with a proven path forward to co- create libraries and communities that will thrive in the coming years. The Sustainable Library Certification Program and the SLI community of practice focus your leadership to enable your library, and ultimately your community, to become more environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically feasible.

Thanks to your library association you can access a FREE 1-year membership to the SLI! (Read to the bottom of this article for instructions for how to access your free membership.)

This national program is focused on how to best support the library community in the face of climate change. Resources have been created to help educate library folks that sustainability is more than just “going green.” In the  Road Map to Sustainability, core concepts such as the “triple bottom line” definition of sustainability and the phrase “sustainable thinking” are defined. The award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program was created to provide a methodical way for libraries to consider the application of the triple bottom line of sustainability throughout twelve categories of decisions – from how a facility is constructed and operated, to policy-making, to library service, program, collection, and partnership choices.

The most exciting part of the SLI is the growing community of practice, with more than 100 libraries actively working through the program, the body of examples, solutions, and great ideas grows almost daily. You can learn from those libraries who have finished the certification by checking out their final presentations.

Inspired to learn more? Sign up today for your FREE 1-year membership to the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, a member benefit brought to you by your library association.

To access your free membership:

  1. Go to the SLI web site: https://www.sustainablelibrariesinitaitive.org
  2. Click on “Participate” -> “SLI Membership”
  3. Choose the membership type and fill out the membership form
  4. When you get to “How did you hear about us?” select “Other” and enter that you are a member of a participating library association in the Notes Field to wave the membership fee.

To access the discounts of the Sustainable Library Certification Program, contact [email protected] for information and details.