Sustainability—A Call to Action for the Library Community

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Join Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Co-Founder of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, to explore the challenges and opportunities for libraries in the face of climate change and hear how many in our field are already answering the call for leadership on sustainability.

Climate change has emerged as a significant challenge and threat to global health. How will the library community respond? Join Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Co-Founder of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, to explore the challenges and opportunities for libraries in the face of climate change and hear how many in our field are already answering the call for leadership on sustainability. Learn how a mindset that uses the triple bottom line definition of sustainability can change how you see the world around you and shape your future decision-making at home and at work to ensure a more hopeful future. This session will focus on actionable, practical ideas to address climate change that will help you to contribute to a future that considers not only climate change mitigation, but also adaptation and justice.  

Presenter: Rebekkah Smith Aldrich (MLS, LEED AP) is Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson Library System (NY), co-founder and president of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI), and principal author of the Sustainable Library Certification Program. For over 20 years, Rebekkah has worked with public libraries across the globe to ensure library services are relevant and responsive so that our communities thrive. Rebekkah was recognized as a Library Journal Mover & Shaker and was presented with the New York Library Association's Outstanding Service to Libraries Award. An adjunct professor at the Palmer School of Library & Information Science at Long Island University, Rebekkah serves as Library Journal’s Sustainability columnist, and has written or co-edited three books for ALA Editions on the topics of sustainability and resilience along with authoring the New York State Handbooks for New Directors and Trustees. Rebekkah is a frequent presenter and writer on the topic of leading libraries forward in smart, practical, and effective ways.

Provider of this mini-conference: OCLC