A new partnership between the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and the Maine Library Association aims to equip association members with resources and tools to address the challenges of climate change in their communities.

Through this partnership, members will join a nationwide community of practice who are using tools created or compiled by the initiative and its members to uncover ways that its libraries and communities will understand, lessen and adapt to the effects of climate change. These tools include a custom carbon dioxide calculator to help members estimate their current institutional greenhouse gas emissions to measure progress in efforts to reduce GHG emissions; a vendor list to aid in using environmentally friendly products and services; policy and programming examples; a webinar archive and the Road Map to Sustainability resource to help with planning.

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative’s Sustainable Libraries Certification Program provides library leaders with a tested, structured path forward to increase your library’s commitment to environmental stewardship, economic feasibility and social equity.

The certification program — with versions available for public libraries, academic libraries, library systems and school librarians — guides participants to look to their communities to identify needs and potential partners, adjust their current practices to align with the triple-bottom-line definition of sustainability, and reflect on how these actions are having a real impact in their organization and community.

Members of the Maine Library Association who opt in will receive one free year of annual membership to the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and a 20% discount on the award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program. Cohorts of five or more libraries will receive a 25% discount on certification.

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