Sustainable Libraries
Libraries can be utilized as an excellent resource for integrating sustainability and building up environmental literacy at a school site. Any learning hub similar to libraries can be utilized by stakeholders.
CURATED ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY BOOK LIST
Sustainable and Climate Resilient Schools Solutionary and Environmental Book List
The link above is a list of well curated books (and some videos) that can provide examples of solutionary action or explore environmental themes. Many are children’s books, which are great for both primary and secondary students.
Professional Learning For Sustainable Libraries
Environmental Literacy and sustainability in general is a fairly new focus area for libraries. Utilize the resources below to gain a deeper understanding about how libraries across the United States are seeking to become leaders for Environmental Literacy.
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) provides library leaders with a proven path forward to co-create libraries and communities that will thrive in the coming years. The Sustainable Library Certification Program, the major product of the SLI, focuses your leadership to enable your library, and ultimately your community, to become more environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically feasible.
Eco Print Resources for Faculty and Students
A key component of every library is making print resources available to faculty and students for research and learning. The lists of fiction and non-fiction books below have environmental and social justice themes and topics:
Eco Fiction: They have a great database of titles that can be organized by genre, interest group, or age.
Good Reads: A list of popular Eco Friendly Books for Kids.
Children’s Books Daily: 100 of the best books for children on Sustainability.
All the Wonders: A list of 35 Books for Young Activists.
A Mighty Girl: A selection of nearly 70 children’s books about the environment, which also feature Mighty Girls. A great feature to this list is that it is searchable by age level.
Common Sense Media: A list of earth-friendly books that have a powerful messages about nature and the environment. They are categorized by appropriate age level.
YALSA: Books to celebrate Earth Day and the Environmentalist in all of us.
SocialJusticeBooks.org: A project of Teaching for Change, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide teachers and parents with the tools to create schools where students learn to read, write and change the world. They have a solid curated booklist of 50 books.
Eco Film Resources for Faculty and Students:
Some teachers may ask the library to provide them with great fiction and non-fiction films they can use with students. See below for curated lists of environmental related films:
Common Sense Media: A list of environmental themed films that are categorized by appropriate age level.
Environmental Studies in Video: This database provides films covering all realms of environmental studies, particularly ethics, policy, economics, law, sociology, planning, and environmental science. Films were produced from 1970 to the present, and address specific topics including alternative energy, pollution control, eco-design, sustainability, farming and agriculture, the food industry, LEED certification, waste issues, and climate change.
Relevant Databases for Student Research
The library is often a major hub for conducting research. In order to ensure that students are accessing quality sources for research, it is important to utilize well curated databases. See below for lists of databases that provide access to quality environmental research:
National Geographic Kids: Videos, articles, websites, and more.
ABC-CLIO: This organization has four databases that have history references online, and searchable e-books.
EBSCO: Has a number of environmental and sustainability related databases such as Environmental Index, Environment Complete, Sustainability Watch, Wildlife and Ecology Studies Worldwide, and more.
CQ Researcher provides award winning in-depth coverage of the most important issues of the day. Our reports are written by experienced journalists, footnoted and professionally fact-checked. Full-length articles include an overview, historical background, chronology, pro/con feature, plus resources for additional research. Graphics, photos and short "sidebar" features round out the reports. Shorter "Hot Topics" articles provide a solid introduction to subjects most in demand by students.
Sustainability Disclosures Database: This database has reports from businesses and organizations that currently are tracking environmental and social impact metrics, in addition to more traditional metrics such as profit. Examples of include smaller organizations like cities and local business, as well as large multi-national corporations such as Disney, Coca Cola, Nike, etc.