Sustainability in Library Collection Development: Introducing a Green Audit Template

Jessie Major 

Citation: 

McCord, D., Cassady, S., Roman, P., Cato, J., & Mantz, E. (2025). Sustainability in Library Collection Development: Introducing a Green Audit Template. Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship / Revue Canadienne De Bibliothéconomie Universitaire, 11, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.33137/cjal-rcbu.v11.43852   

Summary:

This project presents an original 'Green Audit' template to determine how environmentally sustainable an academic publisher is. Publishers are judged based on environmental practices, current impact, and future commitments. A case study of 16 international publishers examines the availability of information, geographic differences, commitments and compliance, materials, transportation, and infrastructure. The results of such a Green Audit can help LIS professionals develop collections which meet sustainability goals and lower their institution's carbon footprint. 

Evaluation:

I was immediately intrigued by the idea of a 'Green Audit' for evaluating a publisher or collection's overall sustainability. I think libraries are often thought of as inherently 'green' or ecologically sustainable because providing access to resources like books cuts down on the overall material over-consumption of goods. While this may be true to some level, just being a 'more sustainable' option than individuals all buying their books does not guarantee that our overall collection is truly sustainable. I also have not come across many discussions of sustainability as it pertains to library collection development, even though environmental practices are becoming more important in other fields. I think the article overall provides an insightful, customizable evaluation technique to consider when planning collection development.

Library to farm to table: public libraries increasingly offer food production programs

Rivera, Destiny 

Inklebarger, T. (2016, November 1). Library to farm to table: Public libraries increasingly offer food production programs. American Libraries. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/11/01/library-farm-to-table/

This is a beautiful and simple article presented by the online version of American Libraries Magazine about seed libraries and what they refer to as “food production programs”. This article profiles various libraries across the nation which offer “food-literacy” classes as well as access to farms, seeds and crops. While this article has many innovative ideas, it ends with a very powerful vision by Jodi Shaw, coordinator for the American Library Association’s Sustainability Round Table. She has a revolutionary idea to convert all 60 branches of the Brooklyn Public Library into rooftop gardens. In total all 6o branches equates to about 138 acres of of farmland. While she admits it is a radical idea, she keeps a close eye on other organizations within Brooklyn who are already converting this dream into a reality. Great read!