Green Librarianship
From Metro Collaborate
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Summary of METRO Green Librarianship Special Interest Group (SIG) Meeting November 1, 2007 2 to 4 p.m. METRO offices
Attendees of the first meeting of the METRO Green Librarianship Special Interest Group (SIG) were welcomed by Brita Servaes, Undergraduate Services Librarian at the New School, and Rita Ormsby, an Information Services Librarian at Baruch College’s Newman Library. Brita explained that the SIG was an outgrown of the Green Libraries discussion at the August 14 Library Camp held at Baruch College, with the dual goals of helping librarians and library users learn more about environmental issues and green policies and practices. She showed the METRO Green Librarianship SIG site at http://www.metro.org/collaborate/index.php/Green_Librarianship. Currently, following METRO’s policies, only the conveners, Brita Servaes, and Rita Ormsby have rights to post items.
In addition to the conveyors, attending the meeting were: From CUNY libraries: Barbara Linton, Borough of Manhattan Community College; Beth Posner and Jane Fitzpatrick, CUNY Graduate Center; Jennifer King, Lehman College; Lisa Ellis, Baruch College; and James Kaser, College of Staten Island; also, Katherine Powis, The Horticultural Society of New York; Ingrid Redman, Polytechnic University; Leigh Hallingby, Open Society Institute; Carol Van Houten, Bank Street College of Education; Cheryl Yanek, of Catalyst, and Tom Nielsen, METRO Member Services Manager. Brita thanked Tom and other METRO staff members, especially Linda Braun, for their help in organizing the SIG.
Attendees introduced themselves and told of their particular interests or concerns. and offered some suggestions.
Among the concerns and activities of librarians were:
The waste of paper from free “on demand” printing by students because the students forget to retrieve their copies. (Students have printing accounts that allow a set number of pages to be printed.)
Inability of dual-sided printing by computer printers. (Cheryl Yanek said she gets around this by copying odd-numbered pages, and then feeding the paper back to copy even-numbered pages. Carol Van Houten said that “a print free day” had been tried at Bank Street, where students were encouraged to save their information to USB ports, or other means. She said there were no complaints.
Amount of packaging used in interlibrary loan. (Envelopes and packaging are reused when possible.)
The amount of electronic waste from computers and other electronic equipment, and whether there are ways that this could be reduced on campuses, and in work places.
The waste involved in heating and cooling.
Encouraging the use of reusable products, such as refillable pens, and reducing consumption of products and electricity.
Uncertainty of current policies/policy makers on campuses regarding purchasing of cleaning products, recycling efforts, and possible collaborative efforts with other faculty members so that librarians may be more of a force in environmental policies and behavior.
Desire for more information on “success stories” that show the business case for being “green.”
Disappointment was expressed that educators had not done more regarding environmental consciousness.
The desire to be able to take information back to the attendees’ libraries.
The Librarians Association of the City University of New York (LACUNY) is organizing a Green Libraries program as part of the annual LACUNY Institute, which will be April 11. Lisa Ellis, LACUNY President, and Rita Ormsby are the planning committee. Rita said she had contacted Jim Lloyd, who is an Assistant VP of Campus Operations at Baruch, and he said is “passionate” about “green buildings.” Rita said she would like to know more about the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system for buildings. Attendees expressed interested in learning more about how remodeling and new construction projects could be more “green.”
Cheryl Yanek of Catalyst, a nonprofit corporate membership research and advisory organization that works globally with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women and business, told of her “Green Team,” efforts, such as encouraging colleagues to bring a coffee mug to work; concern about paper consumption; and how she had provided “scary tips about the environment” prior to Halloween.
Leigh Hallingby, of the Open Society Institute (OSI), a private operating and grant making foundation, that aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform, explained that she is a member of the Greener OSI Work Group that is more than a year old. It is not officially endorsed by upper management. There are about 250 people in New York office, with other U.S. offices in Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., with additional offices in Brussels, Paris, London, Budapest and New Delhi. When interns or new employees start in the New York office, Leigh emails them a “Welcome from the Greener OSI Work Group,” that includes ten green things that can be done at work and home. Among these suggestions are bringing labeled personal cups and plates to use in the OSI lunchroom. Information is also provided about the “green resources” available through the OSI Library, such as copies of “Inconvenient Truth,” and speeches from OSI programs. She said that since the OSI makes grants in the environment and “green” area, there is an awareness of the grant maker’s behavior. She noted that the Rockefeller Brothers Fund has made a commitment to go “carbon neutral.” (Some information about Global Warming and this initiative can be found on the Rockefeller Brothers Fund web site, http://www.rbf.org/) At the OSI, video conferencing is being explored as an alternative to international travel. They are preparing a request for proposal for a consultant to assess the organization’s carbon impact.
Environmental policy statements of Duke University, (http://www.duke.edu/sustainability/policy.html, Federal Express (http://commitment.fedex.designcdt.com/environment and Hormel Foods http://www.hormelfoods.com/responsibility/process/environmental.aspx were mentioned.
Tom Nielsen mentioned that he had a list of 50 films relating to climate change and other environmental concerns that he would share with attendees. He also mentioned his interest in buying and eating healthy food, and activities at college dining halls at Vassar and composting efforts at Marist College’s food services. (Information about Vassar’s new local food partnership is available at: http://www.vassar.edu/headlines/2007/local-foods-week.html. Information about Marist College’s food services is available at http://www.maristdining.com/news.html)
Librarian Katherine Powis of the New York Horticultural Society (http://www.hsny.org/, explained that Library Journal had recently featured the Society’s Green Branches program that has, so far, involved 13 Carnegie branches of the Brooklyn Public Library, and 4 Carnegie branches of The New York Public Library, in the design, installation, and continuation of gardens around the branch libraries. (A link to the LJ article is found on the Society’s homepage.) The Society’s GreenHouse Program provides training on gardening and plants and scrubs to Rikers Island inmates, and offers internships through GreenTeams.
She mentioned that the Society would host a talk by Patricia Klindienst, author of The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans, and invited attendees.
Future activities for the SIG were discussed. It was agreed that there would be three or four meetings a year. Once the listserv is established, members will be encouraged to share ideas for future programs and speakers through November, with a possible program to be held during January.
