For Immediate Release
September 6, 2023

                                                               Sustainable Libraries Initiative partners with New York Library Association
                                                                         The Sustainable Libraries Initiative partners with New York libraries
                                                                                   to cultivate library leadership for community resilience

                                       New York – September 6, 2023 – The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) and the New York Library Association (NYLA) have announced a new partnership to provide resources and tools to all NYLA members that will accelerate work in libraries to build communities that will thrive when faced with the challenges of climate change. Through this partnership, NYLA members will join an international network of members who are using tools created or compiled by SLI to uncover ways that their libraries and communities will understand, lessen, and adapt to the effects of climate change. These include a custom CO₂ calculator to help them estimate their current institutional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions so they can measure progress in reducing GHG emissions; a vendor list to source more environmentally-friendly products and services; policy examples; a webinar archive and the Road Map to Sustainability resource to help with planning. NYLA members will also receive a 20% discount on the award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program.
 
                                     “The New York Library Association is beyond excited to formalize our partnership with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative,” said AnnaLee Dragon, Executive Director of NYLA, "Sustainable thinking and action are vital to our membership, our profession, and our world. It is important for our association to stand in our values, and it is our great fortune that the SLI is based in our state and has offered to give our members access to these critical resources.”

                                     “We applaud the New York Library Association for seeking this partnership to enable all of their members to accelerate their adoption of sustainable thinking,” said Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Board President of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, “Positioning New York’s library community as leaders in the conversation about climate change mitigation and adaptation is a strong move to ensure libraries contribute to their community’s resilience and remain relevant and responsive institutions.”

                                      The Sustainable Libraries Initiative and the one-of-a-kind Sustainable Library Certification Program (SLCP) provide tools and resources for public, academic, and school librarians to shift their policies and practices to align with the principles of triple-bottom-line sustainability: environmentally sound decisions, advancing social equity, and considering the economic feasibility of all choices. The program is designed to guide 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.

                                     This makes New York the fourth statewide organization to engage with the SLI, joining the New Jersey Library Association, the California State Library and the Vermont Community Foundation who have all found ways to connect the libraries of their state with SLI resources to accelerate climate action.

NYLA members will receive a message directly from NYLA regarding how to access SLI resources.

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 nationwide, school librarians throughout New York State.

New York Library Association

Established in 1890, NYLA leads, educates, and advocates for the advancement of the New York library community.

For more information, see the Sustainable Libraries Initiative website
(https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org) or contact:
Alex Blend, Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainable Libraries Initiative
Suffolk Cooperative Library System
631-286-1600 x1355
sliadmin@suffolknet.org