Library Commits to Sustainability

Library Commits to Sustainability:  We recently enrolled in the Sustainable Library Initiative’s Certification Program, which empowers libraries to be leaders in “triple bottom line” sustainability. Our goal is to create a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable library and community in the face of the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis. By joining the program, the library is committing to work toward embedding the concepts of triple bottom line sustainability into our policies and practices. We’ll be using the lenses of environmental impact, economic feasibility, and social equity to assess our current practices and work through comprehensive “action items” in twelve categories such as Energy, Materials, Collective Impact, and Resilience Planning. Richmond is part of a cohort of nine libraries that are working together to achieve certification over the next two years as the Vermont Library Association’s Sustainable Libraries Working Group. The other libraries are Brownell, Carpenter-Carse, Charlotte, Lincoln, Norman Williams, Pettee Memorial, Quechee, and Windsor Public Library. The working group’s efforts are being supported by the Sustainable Future Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation. The Richmond Library looks forward to collaborating with other Vermont libraries and our community to build a more sustainable future.