For Immediate Release
March 3, 2025

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative Announces Nationwide Launch of the School Librarian Sustainable Library Certification Program
 An updated program encourages school librarians across the country to become library leaders and incorporate sustainable practices into every day curriculum.

           New York–March 3, 2025 – – After five years of beta testing, a brand-new version of the Sustainable Library Certification Program for school librarians is now available to school librarians nationwide.

Currently, 52 school librarians are active participants of the Sustainable Library Certification Program with an additional 14 school librarians having already achieved certification status. Read their stories here or review the list of program participants.

The new program guides school librarians through 5 sections designed to help integrate sustainable practices related to the triple bottom line of sustainability into the library curriculum: environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic feasibility. 

Participating school librarians seeking certification have 12-months to complete the requirements and are provided with the assistance of a mentor who is a certified school librarian. Mentors serve as a valuable resource throughout the process to help with pacing, review the work being done, and provide advice where needed. 

“We are thrilled about the new alignment of the SLI benchmarks for school librarians with established standards for school library programs,” says Vincent Hyland, co-creator of the new program and one of the mentors responsible for overseeing a large group of participating New York City school librarians. “By refining the language of the action items to align with these guidelines, we can ensure messaging about best practices in school libraries is consistent, and the great work librarians are doing everywhere has a chance to be recognized and to spread. We look forward to seeing the impact of our first cohort this spring.” 

Ann-Marie Kalin, certified school librarian and mentor to the first out-of-state school librarians, says “Collaborating with librarians across state lines has been rewarding, we're not just sharing resources—we're cultivating sustainable practices that will enrich libraries and communities for generations to come. Together, we're writing a new chapter in library stewardship.”

Librarians interested in participating are encouraged to visit the Sustainable Libraries Initiative website or reach out to SLI staff with the information below. An official program start date for the next cohort has not yet been announced, but is expected to kick off in May and is currently open for enrollment. 

About the Sustainable Libraries Initiative

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative is a member-driven organization that empowers library professionals to be leaders in triple-bottom-line sustainability (environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic feasibility) both within their organizations and in their communities. The Sustainable Library Certification Program is now enrolling public and academic libraries, library systems, and school librarians.

For more information, please visit the Sustainable Libraries Initiative website or reach out directly to SLI staff at sliadmin@suffolknet.org